SAN FRANCISCO — Traffic on California’s lovely Highway 1 is flowing again after a part of the coastal road fell during a storm over Easter weekend, causing closures and trapping drivers near Big Sur, officials stated.
Rain on Saturday afternoon caused the collapse near Rocky Creek Bridge, about 17 miles south of Monterey, sending pieces of the road into the ocean from the southbound side.
The highway was shut down in both directions in the hilly region of the central coast while engineers checked the damage, as reported by the California Department of Transportation, or Caltrans.
“We are working on a plan to get drivers out of the area,” the California Highway Patrol said on Saturday. Officials did not specify how many people were stuck.
By Sunday afternoon, crews had confirmed that it was safe to travel in the northbound lane, and authorities started guiding drivers around the damaged section.
The well-known highway has frequently been closed due to collapses, mudslides, and rockfalls during severe weather.
The slow-moving storm brought heavy rain at lower elevations and over a foot of snow at ski resorts in the Sierra Nevada around Lake Tahoe.
Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the system is normal for March but was not an atmospheric river like many other storms that have hit the state in recent winters.
The storm left the San Francisco Bay Area on Friday and then moved down the California coast, with most of the rain falling in the Los Angeles area, Kittell mentioned.
Flood watches are in effect in Southern California ahead of a weekend storm.
A wind advisory was issued in the Bay Area, and heavy rain is expected in San Francisco on Friday afternoon. https://t.co/wJO3OtRBqz
— San Francisco Chronicle (@sfchronicle) March 30, 2024
Then the storm stalled over Southern California, where it was expected to remain until Sunday night or into Monday. Showers and potential thunderstorms, along with the chance of lightning and strong winds, were possible in parts of Santa Barbara, Ventura, and LA counties.
