California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) officials said in a statement Friday that a debris flow from the hill above the roadway “overwhelmed the drainage infrastructure, spilled over the freeway and eroded the road, resulting in the complete loss of part of Highway 1. at Rat Creek, about 25 miles south of Big Sur, a mountainous stretch of the state’s central coast.
California Highway Patrol Officer John Yerace said he was in the area around 4:00 pm Thursday when he noticed that “this portion of the road, especially the southern carriageway, had fallen into the ocean.”
Caltrans crews discovered the debris flow on Thursday and issued an emergency contract to Papich Construction in San Luis Obispo County to assist with the repair. At daybreak Friday, Caltrans crews and rescuers arrived on the scene and found that “both lanes of the highway had been washed away.”
The damage assessment team will work through the weekend, Caltrans said. It’s unclear how long the repair could take and the road remains closed in the meantime.
Officer Yerace said he stayed on site when he discovered the blurred road to keep drivers safe until he was relieved. He later returned.
“For a while at night, before 6:30 am this morning, we responded back to the scene with the help of Caltrans access and realized that the roadway is now gone,” he said.
At least 25 structures in Northern California have been damaged as a result of mudslides and debris flow caused by a powerful atmospheric river-fired storm. Most of the affected areas are where burn scars exist from previous wildfires.