**UPDATE #2–TRAFFIC ADVISORY** CALTRANS CONTINUES WITH TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF HWY. 1 AT MUD CREEK, PAUL’S SLIDE RE-OPENS TODAY, THURSDAY, MARCH 7 AT 5 PM

CALTRANS
Today’s Date: March 7, 2019 at 12:15 pm
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 549-3189
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

**UPDATE #2–TRAFFIC ADVISORY**

CALTRANS CONTINUES WITH TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF HWY. 1 AT MUD CREEK, PAUL’S SLIDE RE-OPENS TODAY, THURSDAY, MARCH 7 AT 5 PM

MONTEREY COUNTY —Highway 1 at Paul’s Slide (PM MON 21.6) will re-open by 5 pm today, Thursday, March 7. Hwy. 1 will continue to be closed at Mud Creek (PM 8.9) until further notice.

Businesses along the Big Sur Coast on Hwy. 1 remain open and are accessible via Hwys. 101, 68 and 46.

Caltrans’ Geotech, Maintenance and Construction units are on call — Assessments and cleaning continues at both sites. Crews are currently clearing perched boulders and catchment areas and will have Paul’s Slide open by 5PM today, Thursday, March 7. The movement at the southern conform at Mud Creek has slowed down; paving is planned for the displaced area tomorrow to make it traversable for public traffic. We tentatively plan to reopen Mud Creek by 5 PM tomorrow, Friday, March 8—dependent on: site conditions, continued displacement, and progress. When Mud Creek re-opens, our maintenance crews will monitor this location over the weekend and notify us if the movement accelerates or site conditions change. Assessments of the roadway conditions and progress will continue to take place in the morning tomorrow, Friday, March 8. Caltrans’ goal is to open the roadway as quickly and safely as possible and our staff remains on-call 24/7. (PLEASE REFER TO PICTURES OF BOTH SLIDE AREAS, AERIAL OF SOUTHERN APPROACH TO MUD CREEK AND VIDEO OF MUD CREEK BOULDER COMING DOWN, ATTACHED).

The gates on either side of Paul’s Slide will re-open at 5 pm today, Thursday, March 7. The gates on either side of Mud Creek will remain closed until further notice. These gates will not be manned when the highway is closed and there will be no access to anyone, including Emergency Services or Caltrans employees until a proper assessment can be made and any necessary cleanup has been completed.

NOTE: This advisory applies only to the Mud Creek and Paul’s Slide areas with each closure being treated separately. Please stay tuned for additional information when the roadway opens again.

An update will be provided by noontime tomorrow, Friday, March 8th.

20190306 pauls slide at noontime

20190306 mud creek southern approach displacement location aerial courtesy of cal engineering geology

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20190306 mud creek south approach at noontime 1 of 2