Flood damaged roads crimping my ride options

[santacruzrider]

California's historic rains this past few weeks appears to have ended the multiyear drought for most of the state, but has done some serious damage to local roads. Mudslides have done massive damage and several days since New Year's I've either not been able to get to work (a 90-mile RT through the mountains) or had to take huge detours that made my RT commute 6 hours one day and 8 hours another  :-\ 

Now I see that my favorite route to work is permanently closed -- first picture shows the Old Soquel Road the last day we were still sliding past a wash out -- that dropped pavement is now down the hill.

And the second photo is one of the big bridges on Hwy 1 north of Big Sur -- which is now cut off from civilization (they are actually using helicopters to bring in supplies).

Fun days ahead. Maybe I need to break down and finally get that KLR!?!?!?

 

[bill rowland]

Just moved to Pescadero from the northwest, thought it rained a lot up there.Boy was I wrong.Had to go over stage road just to get to Half Moon bay.Ya it sucked.....

 

[TRM-KS]

Hmm...This is concerning.  My wife and I have been planning a July vacation for a few weeks now, flying into SFO, renting a car, and driving the fabled Highway 1 south to the Cambria/Morro Bay/San Luis Obispo area, and then back to SFO.  Just taking our time, enjoying the sights.  But with part of the road literally gone, we may have to make other plans (we've booked nothing yet).  I highly doubt that type of repair will take a few weeks; more like months.  The CalTrans website shows several closures in the central CA area.  I suppose there are some alternate routes, such as 101, but it won't be quite what we were looking forward to.

Any CA locals with advice/information?

Thanks in advance. 

 

[santacruzrider]

Unfortunately, I doubt they will have this bridge repaired by this summer.

An option would be to take Hwy 1 south from SF until you reach Carmel, then cut inland to Hwy 101 and take it the rest of the way south to Cambria. You'll miss all of Big Sur, but from Cambria you could drive Hwy 1 north to that area (but then you are again at the end of the road (just now on the opposite side of the bridge.

I understand that Fergussen (which is a goat trail through the mountains east of Big Sur) is also closed from mudslides. But you may want to check when you get closer to your trip. It's a narrow winding road, but an experience in itself and would bypass the damaged bridge.

 

[Jorge]

Dan, I seem to remember in the past hearing/reading about multiple mud slides in California... do I remember right?
If so, are these simply a return to "the good old days", with some catching up for the drought in the last few years?
Having said that, sorry to hear how it's impacted your commute; wow, 6 hours!  I won't complain about my commute back in Indiana.

 

[TRM-KS]

Unfortunately, I doubt they will have this bridge repaired by this summer.

An option would be to take Hwy 1 south from SF until you reach Carmel, then cut inland to Hwy 101 and take it the rest of the way south to Cambria. You'll miss all of Big Sur, but from Cambria you could drive Hwy 1 north to that area (but then you are again at the end of the road (just now on the opposite side of the bridge.

I understand that Fergussen (which is a goat trail through the mountains east of Big Sur) is also closed from mudslides. But you may want to check when you get closer to your trip. It's a narrow winding road, but an experience in itself and would bypass the damaged bridge.

Thanks Dan, good stuff.  I'll map your suggested detour to get a better feel for it.  Fergussen sounds like a hoot.  If it's anything like some of the trails we've driven in Hawaii then it should be fun.  Assuming it's open by the second week of July, of course.  BTW, do you know what that bridge is called?  I'd like to get a better handle on its exact location for planning purposes.  Thanks again!      :beerchug:

 

[santacruzrider]

That's the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge and looks like it's been condemned and will be torn down and replaced. May take a year: http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/02/22/highway-1-pfeiffer-canyon-bridge-condemned/

Jorge: Yep, lots of mudslides. One on a 4-lane road through the mountains covered 2 lanes for the length of a football field and took crews 2 weeks to clear. One of the crew members clearing the mud was killed during the project. This has been some serious weather.


Not complaining about the rain, but the drought/flood cycles are really damaging.

All this rain has supposedly ended the drought in most of California. So. Cal still needs another wet winter to replenish the groundwater. Lots of snow in the Sierra too. I tried to get a camping reservation this summer in Yosemite and they won't take them because they don't think they will have Tioga Pass clear of snow until after mid-July --- that's a lot of snow!  :great:

 

[face33]

Living in CA was a choice I had to struggle with. I had a dream job - lived cheaply on a boat - but still felt like i was making too many concessions. I still have business in CA but must admit that for laying down my head at night TN has been good to me.

Slides, fires, congestion, crime, filth, respectless people all add up to make CA the last place in which would want to be sick or hurt or rich or poor. The amount of times i was ripped off or worse in CA is unreal - criminals are protected. I was hit twice in one week by accomplished DUI drunk drivers. One was not here legally - the other had 6 DUIs already. CA = a state of chaos. Watch out for the white Corolla and teal minivan - im sure they're still driving drunk - in CA that's called exercising your rights! 

Droughts to floods - writing is on the wall - save yourself!

 

[santacruzrider]

Come on Fais, sounds like your Cali experience was probably karma catching up with you.  :nananana:

Maybe you just had a run of bad luck. I've had a few incidents myself (hit by DUI driver when I was 15, hit and run on motorcycle, a couple of car break-ins). Ironically, when I was a young reporter and my beat was Compton, I spent a year in SouthCentral LA and never had a single issue.

On the other hand, I heard the same thing when I lived in Hawaii. People would move there, find out it wasn't the paradise they thought it was, then leave and cry about the crime, drugs and congestion. All those things were there too.

As for the advice to watch for the teal minivan: you bet that that would already be something that caught my attention. The driver sounds like someone in the habit of making bad choices.

In the meantime, maybe I'll have to come visit you in the land of no crime or pollution or natural disasters, and where everyone is polite. Now that I think about it, I've already been to Disney World and the congestion was a killer!  :rotflmao:

 

[bill rowland]

Dan I must agree, I have road many thousands of miles here in California and have found MOST people here  are like everywhere else, courteous. I think California gets a bad rap because of its liberal views on many things. Go to northern California in the STATE of Jefferson its very different up there. Sometimes I felt riding around, I was in a different country.

 

[face33]

My farm in Humbolt does quite well - if I give a lot up to not have to be there. My above post should have been more squarely aimed at LA.

Love CA for the occasional ride every summer. Ave of the Giants and HWY1 never get old.

Wouldn't want to be in LA during any type of weather or other emergency . . .

 

[Bob Young]

As a former resident of the State of Jefferson, it is a whole different California. Loved every year there [25 and 9 months]. It has gotten the much needed rain almost to an excess, but those folks know how to adapt.
My fear is if they should split California, Eastern vs Western, they'll damage the State of Jefferson, but not the spirit of the folks living there. It may even revive the desire to actually form the State of Jefferson. Lord knows, they'd be better served!

Bob Young
COG #5753