Jump to content

Part of California highway near Big Sur falls into the sea

Edit links
Checked
From Wikinews, the free news source you can write!
Related articles
Location of California
Collaborate!
California
California

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Big Sur coast at Bixby Creek Bridge

A 40-foot section of scenic Highway 1 about 12 miles south of Carmel, California crumbled into the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, preventing access to the popular tourist area of Big Sur from the north.

The collapse of the southbound lane of the two-lane highway, also known as the Pacific Coast Highway, follows several days of rain. The soil under the northbound lane is also in danger of giving way. Drivers heading north were blocked at the Bixby Creek Bridge; the rest of the road has been closed to traffic indefinitely. A long closure is expected to hurt the tourist business upon which Big Sur and and the tiny surrounding communities depend.

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) said no one was injured.

The section that collapsed is on a curve south of the Rocky Creek Bridge, where the highway clings to the scenic Santa Lucia Mountains, and near the Bixby Creek Bridge, one of the "iconic" arch bridges that make this stretch of the highway with its dramatic vistas such a well-known scenic drive.

The cause of the collapse was not apparent as the road surface looked new, and no seeping water was visible. "It's basically just nature," a CHP officer said.

With Highway 1 closed, drivers wishing to access Big Sur from the north could go inland on Highway 101 and pass through the Salinas Valley. To return to the coast drivers must pass over a steep, winding mountainous road. This route adds at least an hour to the journey.

Sources

Share this:  E-mail this story Share on Facebook Share on reddit.com Share on LinkedIn.com Share on twitter.com


This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

The text of this article is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

The text of this article is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License
Retrieved from "https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Part_of_California_highway_near_Big_Sur_falls_into_the_sea&oldid=4823943"