Starting on Monday, Cal-Trans crews will be working to fill the gap at Rat Creek so they can re-build the Highway 1 south of Big Sur. That after the January 29th storm led to debris flow from the Dolan Fire washing out a 150 section of the coastal highway. Officials estimate that Highway 1 in that area will re-open to travelers early this summer. This “enhanced fill” option also involves replacing the main drainage system at rat creek with an over-sized main culvert, a secondary culvert, and several smaller overflow culverts closer to the highway grade. The redundancies are designed to help the highway withstand future debris flows, and enhance the resiliency and sustainability of the highway against coastal erosion.
