A large chunk of California’s Highway 1 near Big Sur collapsed and fell into the Pacific Ocean after a winter storm triggered a mudslide, officials said.
Photos posted from the scene showed a significant piece of the hillside and road missing. Due to the size of the missing chunk, it appears that the section of Highway 1 will remain impassible for a considerable amount of time.
Caltrans told CNN that debris that fell during the mudslide from above “overwhelmed drainage infrastructure, flowed across the highway, and eroded the road, resulting in the complete loss of a segment of Highway 1.”
Locals stated that the washout will be bad for business.
“We can’t take another year or two years of no traffic,” she said. “It would be great if the state would build a temporary road, maybe behind that hill, for people to traverse while Caltrans rebuilds the damaged section. I’m sure [chamber board President] Mel McColloch will be on the job, bugging Caltrans.”
