California's iconic Highway 1 to reopen ahead of schedule after mudslide damage

A scenic portiona> of California’s Highway 1 will <a href="https: later this month. 

In January, a mudslide washed out 150 feet of the highway along the iconic Big Sur Coasta>. The highway has been closed since then and wasn’t expected to be fully repaired until summer. < Department of Transportation announced that the closed portion of Highway 1 will reopen on April 30, almost two months ahead of schedule. 

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According to a tweet, “favorable weather & soil conditions” allowed crews to move faster than expected. 

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“Reopening Highway 1 at Rat Creek just three months after a washout of this magnitude is great news for residents, recreationalists, business owners, and those who move goods through this region,” Caltrans Director Toks Omishakin said in a statement. “Caltrans has been focused on the emergency work needed to increase the resiliency of this highway section to extreme weathera>, and the fixes made will allow for safe travel.” < 

“Caltrans will continue construction work that will require intermittent traffic control at Rat Creek following the reopening as crews will install a new, redundant drainage system,” the announcement said. “The 10-foot diameter culvert will improve water flow during storms and make the roadway more resilient to extreme weather activity.”

The agency also plans to install guardrails in the summer — though that can be done once the highway has been reopened.

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