After being closed for more than a year, Highway 1 at Paul’s Slide is back open.
The partial reopening of Highway 1 will open direct access to the community of Lucia, the Camaldoli Hermitage, and all who live within the newly reopened 4.3 miles of the highway.
“I'm happy. I've been up a bunch of times since it's been closed but you can only go eight miles past Gorda then it's blocked off, so I’m excited to see how they've maneuvered the road to deal with the Paul Slide,” Michael Belmonte, a Cambria resident said.
Belmonte drove up Highway 1 on Sunday after hearing about the partial reopening.
“I always like to go north because the coastline gets more rugged,” Belmonte said. "Past San Simeon, you're in the beginning of Big Sur and it's a good escape and a good place to reset."
In January of 2023, direct access through Paul’s Slide was blocked off and the highway closed at Ragged Point since a major slide caused 500,000 cubic yards of material to fall across the roadway, according to the Big Sur Chamber of Commerce.
For Annalee Fergus and her husband, who are visiting from Texas, the road closure didn’t keep them from visiting friends.
“We just saw signs that the road was blocked but we needed to get gas and this was the only place to get gas,” Annalee Ferhus said.
However, with no access to Carmel from Highway 1, they had to find another route.
“It would have taken two hours to get up there and this way will be three hours,” Fergus said.
Matthew Ramey, the assistant general manager at Ragged Point Inn, says the partial reopening doesn’t mean much.
“Doesn't help that much but it's a step in the right direction,” Ramey shared.
The total cost of the project is approximately $60 million.
With the reopening of Paul’s Slide, a 6.8-mile segment of Highway 1 will still be closed for repairs at Regent's Slide. Once open, which could come this fall, it will restore direct access along the entire run of the Big Sur Coast.
Before the reopening of Paul’s Slide, the southern turnaround point on Highway 1 was at Limekiln State Park and will now move north just south of the Vincent Creek Bridge, according to the Big Sur Chamber of Commerce.
The turnaround offers plenty of room for large vehicles to turn around, they share.
The northern turnaround point on Highway 1 will remain at Lime Creek just south of Esalen Institute and will remain there until Caltrans completes repairs at Regent's Slide, according to the Big Sur Chamber of Commerce.
