Highway 1 at Regent's Slide along the Big Sur coast was set to reopen this year, but those plans have stalled.
“Highway 1 at Regent’s Slide will not reopen in 2024 due to continued cracking occurring at the repair site,” said Kevin Drabinski, Caltrans Public Information Officer.
At a press conference on Friday at the Ragged Point Inn, Caltrans announced that crews working in the Regent's Slide area of Highway 1 found cracks in the surface where they were digging last month.
A couple of weeks later, there was more land movement and cracking.
For now, repair work is paused.
Over 100 miles of Highway 1 between Cambria and Carmel remain open except for the 6.8-mile segment from just south of the Esalen Institute to two miles north of the community of Lucia.
Francine Esposito, owner of the Highway 41 Antique Emporium in Morro Bay, says about 40-60% of her customers are travelers along Highway 1.
She expects to lose even more customers now that the rainy winter season is approaching.
The tourism agency Visit SLO CAL also wants to remind visitors that the stops along the way are what make the journey worth traveling.
“The beautiful thing about this highway is that it isn't about getting from point A to point B, it's about discovering the hidden gems along the way like Moonstone Beach, Covell's Clydesdale Ranch and Stepladder Creamery,” said Whitney Chaney, Visit SLO CAL Director of Community Engagement & Advocacy.
Updates on the road work will be posted on Caltrans' social media.
“We will continue to monitor to make sure the slope is safe and we are doing everything the best we can in terms of providing the best we can for the safety of our crew working there so when they return to excavation work at that site they will be working under safe conditions,” Drabinski said.
As of now, Caltrans says they don’t know when the highway will be reopened.
