Hello Big Sur!

We have a press release from Caltrans

Today’s Date: Monday, February 8, 2010
District: 05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties
Contact: Susana Z Cruz (bilingual) or Colin Jones
Phone: (805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3189

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOUTHBOUND LANE OF HWY. 1 CLOSED SOUTH OF LUCIA

MONTEREY COUNTY – The southbound lane of Hwy. 1 south of Lucia is closed for approximately 200 feet due to storm related damage to the shoulder of the highway. The northbound lane of traffic remains open.

Temporary guardrail has been placed along the shoulder of the southbound lane with stop signs on either end. Motorists will use one-way reversing traffic control via stop signs which will be in place 24/7 until further notice.

Motorists can expect a minimal delay.

All businesses in the area remain open to the public.

Caltrans reminds motorists that ‘we’re here to get you there.’

For traffic updates on other state highways in the Monterey County, motorists can call Caltrans District 5 Public Affairs at 805-549-3318 or visit the District 5 website at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/maint/road/mont.htm

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Regards,
Stan Russell

Dispatch from Lucia Lodge:
Hello,
Talked to Danny Milsap this morning and I also attached some shots.
As you can see in the pics we did lose the south bound lane here just south of Lucia Lodge. They have stop signs installed and are waiting for traffic lights. Hopefully they will be here soon. They have some k-rails in place to make it a single lane. The north bound lane is cracked too. Danny said they are going to fill the north bound lane and not bother with just putting mix down as it’s moving to rapidly for that. He hopes by doing the fill they will be able to save the north bound lane. Or hold it long enough until the state decides what they will do to repair it completely.
I know nothing official has been posted yet but this is the situation as of 10:00am on Sunday February 7, 2010.
Avis Latone

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The Big Sur Chamber of Commerce will forward Caltrans press releases and information when it comes available.
Stan

luciaroad

luciaroad3

Date: Thursday, February 04, 2010
District: 5 – Santa Barbara, SLO, Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties
Contact: Susana Z. Cruz (Bilingual) or Colin Jones
Phone: (805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3189

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HIGHWAY 1 CARMEL TO CAMBRIA PROJECTS UPDATE

MONTEREY COUNTY – Caltrans officials continues with no more overnight closures due to roadway erosion on Hwy. 1, nine miles north of Ragged Point or three miles south of Gorda, which are both about seven miles into the Monterey County Line from San Luis Obispo.

This segment of Hwy. 1 will continue with continue roadwork during daytime hours (7:30 am to 5 pm) with reverse one-way traffic control through Mid-April

The emergency project to prevent the Big Sur River from cutting into the embankment by the Big Sur Lodge/Pfeiffer State Park Entrance has been completed.

The temporary signal south of Lucia for the bridge/rockshed project remains in operation 24/7 and project is expected to be complete in 2013.

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY–Construction continues with the installation of several horizontal drains on Highway 1 one mile north of Ragged Point during the daytime only, with one-way traffic control with flaggers will continue from 7:00 am until 4:00 pm Monday through Thursday and until 2 pm on Fridays. Work is expected to be complete at the end of February.

Caltrans reminds motorists that “we’re here to get you there.”

For more information on you can call the toll-free project hotline at (888) 836-0866 or visit www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/projects/pitkins/index.htm

###
Reminder: Big Sur Chanterelle & Cook-Off is February 26-28, 2010
http://bigsurchanterelle.org/

That’s all for now.

Stan Russell

The U.S. Postal Service honors the Bixby Creek Bridge in California as the subject of its 2010 Express Mail stamp, which goes on sale nationwide Feb. 3. This bridge was one of the seven classic concrete-arch bridges that eased the way for recreational and commercial travel in California along the Big Sur coast by way of the Carmel-San Simeon Highway, now known as State Highway Route 1.

Located about 13 miles south of Carmel, the Bixby Creek Bridge is one of the country’s highest single-span, concrete-arch bridges, crossing 260 feet above the Bixby Creek and Canyon. This two-lane, 714 foot long bridge with an arch span of 330 feet and a view of the Pacific Ocean is considered by many to be one of the most iconic structures in California and a prominent landmark on this popular segment of Highway 1.

Dedicated in 1932, the Bixby Creek Bridge was named after Charlie Bixby, an early settler in the area. Retrofitting was completed in 2000 to protect it from earthquake damage.

This Express Mail stamp features a color digital illustration of Bixby Creek Bridge in California, by Dan Cosgrove of Clarendon Hills, Illinois. With this issuance the U.S. Postal Service pays tribute to the elegance and craftsmanship of this historic bridge on the Big Sur Coast Highway.

Hello Big Sur!

We’ve got two important Caltrans press releases for you.

Date: Friday, January 29, 2010
District: 5 – Santa Barbara, SLO, Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties
Contact: Susana Z. Cruz (Bilingual) or Colin Jones
Phone: (805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3189

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HIGHWAY 1 NORTH OF RAGGED POINT NOW OPEN OVERNIGHT

MONTEREY COUNTY – Caltrans officials announced today there will be no more overnight closures due to roadway erosion on Hwy. 1, nine miles north of Ragged Point or three miles south of Gorda, which are both about seven miles into the Monterey County Line from San Luis Obispo.

This segment of Hwy. 1 will continue with continue roadwork during daytime hours (7:30 am to 5 pm) with reverse one-way traffic control.

A section of fill has been washed out by ocean surf due to recent heavy rains. The temporary signal south of Lucia for the bridge/rockshed project remains in operation.

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY–Construction has resumed to install several horizontal drains on Highway 1 one mile north of Ragged Point during the daytime only, with one-way traffic control with flaggers will continue from 7:00 am until 4:00 pm Monday through Thursday and until 2 pm on Fridays.

Caltrans reminds motorists that “we’re here to get you there.”

For more information on you can call the toll-free project hotline at (888) 836-0866 or visit http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/projects/pitkins/index.htm

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Date: Friday, January 29, 2010
District: 5 – Santa Barbara, SLO, Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties
Contact: Susana Z. Cruz (Bilingual) or Colin Jones
Phone: (805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3189

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
***UPDATE 2***
EMERGENCY BIG SUR RIVER PROJECT ON HIGHWAY 1 BEGINS NEXT WEEK

MONTEREY COUNTY – An emergency project to prevent the Big Sur River from cutting into the embankment by the Big Sur Lodge/Big Sur Park Campgrounds (Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park) begins next Monday, Feb. 1, Caltrans officials announced today.

Alternating lane closures with one-way reverse traffic control will be in effect from 7 am to 5 pm Mondays through Fridays for two weeks with closures primarily on the northbound side. Up to 10-minute delays are anticipated

There are power lines in the work zone so PG&E will be shutting down the power for one day only on Monday, Feb. 1, from 8 am to 3 pm due to a power line relocation and setting two power poles across the road. Caltrans roadwork will begin on Tuesday, Feb. 2 and continue for two weeks through mid-February.

The project is necessary as the Big Sur River is rapidly eroding the hillside. Big rocks, approximately 5’ x 5’ x 5’ will be placed via crane in the river to keep it from further cutting into the roadway embankment.

Granite Construction of Watsonville is the contractor for this $925,000 emergency project.

Caltrans reminds motorists that “we’re here to get you there.”

For more information on you can call the toll-free project hotline at (888) 836-0866 or visit www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/projects/pitkins/index.htm.
####

As a note of interest, tonight is the biggest, brightest full moon of 2010. Its called the Wolf Moon. Details here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20100129/sc_space/biggestandbrightestfullmoonof2010tonight

That’s all for now.

Regards,
Stan Russell, Executive Director
Big Sur Chamber of Commerce

UPDATE NR-NrthRaggedPt.OpenAllDay1.29.10.doc

UPDATE#2-NR-BigSurRiverProject1.29.10.doc

According to Danny Milsap, Caltrans supervisor for the Willow Springs station, Highway 1, will be open 24×7 at the PMM 7 location as of 4:00 PM today. Thus, there will no longer be any nighttime closures at this location.

We will have an official press release on this later this afternoon.
Stan Russell

Date: Thursday, January 28, 2010
District: 5 – Santa Barbara, SLO, Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties
Contact: Susana Z. Cruz (Bilingual) or Colin Jones
Phone: (805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3189

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

***UPDATE***

EMERGENCY BIG SUR RIVER PROJECT ON HIGHWAY 1 BEGINS NEXT WEEK

MONTEREY COUNTY – An emergency project to prevent the Big Sur River from cutting into the embankment by the Big Sur Lodge/Big Sur Park Campgrounds (read: Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, clarification added by Stan) begins next Monday Feb. 1, Caltrans officials announced today.

Alternating lane closures with one-way reverse traffic control will be in effect from 7 am to 5 pm Mondays through Fridays for two weeks with closures primarily on the northbound side. Up to 10-minute delays are anticipated. There will be a closure this Friday, Jan. 29 from 9 am to 3:30 pm to deliver the rocks to the site and set up for next Monday’s work. This will be an intermittent closure with one-way reverse traffic control with flagging.

There are power lines in the way so PG&E will be shutting down the power during work hours for the two-week project since there are strict specifications on the placement of a crane in relation to overhead power lines. PG&E will be notifying residents/businesses from the Big Sur Lodge/Big Sur Park Campgrounds south to the County Line informing them of the electricity shut off while work is taking place.

The project is necessary as the Big Sur River is rapidly eroding the hillside. Big rocks, approximately 5’ x 5’ x 5’ will be placed via crane in the river to keep it from further cutting into the roadway embankment.

Granite Construction of Watsonville is the contractor for this $925,000 emergency project.

Caltrans reminds motorists that “we’re here to get you there.”

For more information on you can call the toll-free project hotline at (888) 836-0866 or visit www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/projects/pitkins/index.htm

Hello Big Sur!

We’ve got another highway project that is going to begin right away. To clarify, this project is at the entrance to Big Sur Lodge and Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. We’ll keep you posted about updates.

Date: Thursday, January 28, 2010
District: 5 – Santa Barbara, SLO, Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties
Contact: Susana Z. Cruz (Bilingual) or Colin Jones
Phone: (805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3189

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EMERGENCY BIG SUR RIVER PROJECT ON HIGHWAY 1 BEGINS NEXT WEEK

MONTEREY COUNTY – An emergency project to prevent the Big Sur River from cutting into the embankment by the Big Sur Lodge/Big Sur Park Campgrounds begins next Monday Feb. 1, Caltrans officials announced today.

Alternating lane closures with one-way reverse traffic control will be in effect from 7 am to 5 pm Mondays through Fridays for two weeks with closures primarily on the northbound side. Up to 10-minute delays are anticipated. There will be a closure this Friday, Jan. 29 from 9 am to 3:30 pm to deliver the rocks to the site and set up for next Monday’s work.

There are power lines in the way so PG&E will be shutting down the power during work hours for the two-week project since there are strict specifications on the placement of a crane in relation to overhead power lines. PG&E will be notifying residents/businesses from the Big Sur Lodge/Big Sur Park Campgrounds south to the County Line informing them of the electricity shut off while work is taking place.

The project is necessary as the Big Sur River is rapidly eroding the hillside. Big rocks, approximately 5’ x 5’ x 5’ will be placed via crane in the river to keep it from further cutting into the roadway embankment.

Granite Construction of Watsonville is the contractor for this $925,000 emergency project.

Caltrans reminds motorists that “we’re here to get you there.”

For more information on you can call the toll-free project hotline at (888) 836-0866 or visit www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/projects/pitkins/index.htm
####

Put it on your to-do list to sign up for the Big Sur Chanterelle Festival & Cook-Off. I’m hearing that people are finding lots of Chanterelle mushrooms so this should be a hearty festival this year. For more information about the chefs, dates and times go to http://bigsurchanterelle.org/

####

That’s all for now.

Regards,
Stan Russell, Executive Director
Big Sur Chamber of Commerce

Big Sur Chamber of Commerce
PO Box 87
Big Sur, CA 93920
(831) 667-2100
http://www.bigsurcalifornia.org
http://www.facebook.com/BigSurCalifornia
http://www.Twitter.com/BigSurCC
http://www.TheBigSurBlog.com – Contains updates on emergency information when appropriate. We will be making updates on this blog regarding this current Highway 1 work and other highway or weather conditions that may come up throughout the winter.

Highway 1 Big Sur now has a toll free hotline to Check Road Conditions courtesy of Caltrans 888-836-0866

To subscribe to this email list send an email to bigsur-subscribe@bigsurcalifornia.org

To unsubscribe from this email list send and email to bigsur-unsubscribe@bigsurcalifornia.org

NR-BigSurRiverProject1.28.10.doc

Hello Big Sur!

Good news! As the press release below states, Highway 1 will be open at the Ragged Point area work site to one-way controlled traffic during the daylight hours. This is clearly a dynamic situation and we will keep you updated as changes come in. In other news, the Big Sur Chanterelle Festival and Cook-Off now has tickets available online for purchase.

Date: Monday, January 25, 2010 @ 9:30 AM
District: 5 – Santa Barbara, SLO, Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties
Contact: Susana Z. Cruz (Bilingual) or Colin Jones
Phone: (805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3189

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HIGHWAY 1 NORTH OF RAGGED POINT OPEN DURING DAYTIME

MONTEREY COUNTY – Overnight closures will resume today Monday Jan. 25 from dusk to dawn (5 pm to 8 am) due to roadway erosion on Hwy. 1, nine miles north of Ragged Point Inn or three miles south of Gorda, which are both about seven miles into the Monterey County Line from San Luis Obispo.

This segment of Hwy. 1 will remain open during daytime hours (8 am to 5 pm) with reverse one-way traffic control with flagging but closed overnight indefinitely until the road is fixed. Caltrans has mobilized construction crews for repair.

A section of fill has been washed out by the surf due to recent heavy rains and it is necessary to have overnight closures when there is poor visibility of the road and hillside.

If travelling from San Luis County to Monterey County, motorists are advised to take Hwy. 101 to Hwy. 68 as the suggested detour. Electronic message signs are posted to alert motorists of the overnight closures.

Businesses remain open and Big Sur will be accessible from the north during overnight hours and from both direction in the daytime.

The temporary signal south of Lucia for the bridge/rockshed project remains in operation.

Caltrans reminds motorists that “we’re here to get you there.”

For more information on you can call the toll-free project hotline at (888) 836-0866 or visit http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/projects/pitkins/index.htm

# # #

Home of the only Chanterelle Festival in the country, Big Sur hosts another fabulous winter culinary event February 26 – 28, 2010.

Featuring many of the region’s finest local culinary experts and wineries. the Chanterelle Festival and Cook-Off will be held at the Big Sur Lodge and is organized by the same team that brought you the Big Sur Food and Wine Festival. Prepare yourself for a weekend of culinary delights as local chefs and Monterey County wineries display their incredible talents.

Big Sur is blessed with jaw-dropping vistas – some say the most beautiful meeting of land and sea on this planet. In winter months the coast is graced with the golden, rich, earthy chanterelle. The California chanterelle is the largest of all chanterelles worldwide, with some incredible coastal specimens weighing in at a pound or more. With its meaty texture, this mushroom is ideal for any repast, and it is made into a wide variety of lovely dishes – soup, flan, scrambled eggs, ice cream and even beer.

Enjoy a stunning weekend festival on the Big Sur coast, celebrating these locally grown gems with some of the regions finest chefs and wineries.

Wineries
• Morgan Winer
• Hahn Estates
• Galante Vineyards
• Heller Estate
• Talbott Vineyards
• Firestone Walker Brewing Company

Tickets are available online here:
http://bigsurchanterelle.org/

# # #

Regards,
Stan Russell, Executive Director
Big Sur Chamber of Commerce

Big Sur Chamber of Commerce
PO Box 87
Big Sur, CA 93920
(831) 667-2100
http://www.bigsurcalifornia.org
http://www.facebook.com/BigSurCalifornia
http://www.Twitter.com/BigSurCC
http://www.TheBigSurBlog.com – Contains updates on emergency information when appropriate. We will be making updates on this blog regarding this current Highway 1 work and other highway or weather conditions that may come up throughout the winter.

Highway 1 Big Sur now has a toll free hotline to Check Road Conditions courtesy of Caltrans 888-836-0866

To subscribe to this email list send an email to bigsur-subscribe@bigsurcalifornia.org

To unsubscribe from this email list send and email to bigsur-unsubscribe@bigsurcalifornia.org

Hello Big Sur!

A couple quick reminders about work on Highway 1 to be carried out over the next couple of weeks but first, a reminder of what all this rain is bringing us. Green hillsides and wildflowers.

Photo by Howard Jones

Tonight, Sunday January 24 at 5:00 PM work begins on Highway 1. The closure associated with this work is nine miles north of Ragged Point Inn, three miles south of Gorda.

All Big Sur businesses remain open and you can drive as far south as 3 miles before Gorda. Therefore, the southern businesses of Treebones Resort and Lucia Lodge and all business north are accessible from the north.

Nacimiento-Fergusson Road remains closed as of January 22 until further notice.
Information regarding N-F road can be accessed here:
http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/publicworks/status.htm

Kate Novoa has photographs on her blog of the Shale Point area where the work will be taking place. You can see the cracks in the road, etc. Kate also has many personal resources to get timely information about Nacimiento-Fergusson road so you may want to keep on eye on her blog for information.
http://bigsurkate.wordpress.com/

I’ve attached Caltrans press release. Please post this in appropriate places and send to everyone that may be interested or impacted by this situation.

Regards,
Stan Russell, Executive Director
Big Sur Chamber of Commerce

Big Sur Chamber of Commerce
PO Box 87
Big Sur, CA 93920
(831) 667-2100
http://www.bigsurcalifornia.org
http://www.facebook.com/BigSurCalifornia
http://www.Twitter.com/BigSurCC
http://www.TheBigSurBlog.com – Contains updates on emergency information when appropriate. We will be making updates on this blog regarding this current Highway 1 work and other highway or weather conditions that may come up throughout the winter.

Highway 1 Big Sur now has a toll free hotline to Check Road Conditions courtesy of Caltrans 888-836-0866

To subscribe to this email list send an email to bigsur-subscribe@bigsurcalifornia.org

To unsubscribe from this email list send and email to bigsur-unsubscribe@bigsurcalifornia.org

Update NR-Full Closure of Hwy. 1 NrthRaggedPt1.21.10.doc