Historic Highway 1 closure ends as road to Big Sur reopens |
Aerial shot of Bixby Bridge on the Big Sur coast of California on a sunny afternoon.
Brandon Steiner woke up Wednesday morning with no idea that he’d become a part of California history.
Steiner, from Minnesota and out on the West Coast for a work trip, decided to take the scenic route from Los Angeles to San Jose early Wednesday. Shortly after 11 a.m., he found himself stopped at a road block near the southern end of Big Sur, with an eager lineup of cars, including many classics, queuing behind him.
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Just before noon, Steiner would become the first driver to traverse what had been a closed stretch of Highway 1 from the south in exactly three years. “I was working in LA, and I wanted to take the coast all the way up. I did not know the road was even closed,” he told SFGATE with a smile just moments before Caltrans and California Highway Patrol officials opened the road. “So I guess I get to be the first one to go through in three years and didn’t even know it was closed.”
In early 2023, a massive storm created rock- and mudslides that covered California’s Highway 1 in rubble and debris, shutting the coastal thoroughfare down and bisecting the route through Big Sur. On Wednesday, at noon, three years to the day of the historically long highway shutdown, the road opened to through traffic once more.
“This reopening will bring much-needed relief to small businesses and families in Big Sur and the surrounding communities who have shown remarkable resilience and strength,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “… This vital corridor is the gateway to California’s coast and the lifeblood of the Big Sur economy—and today it’s restored.”
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Some motorists coming from the south missed the through road so much, they stood outside their classic cars, having gotten up early just to see their beloved stretch of California highway intact once more. “Road opening, here we go,” Craig Smith from Morro Bay told SFGATE while standing outside his vintage silver Porsche 911. As if a green flag had just dropped, he jumped into the Porsche’s cockpit and started his engine.
“Going to Nepenthe, first time in a long time,” Smith continued as he waved and sped away.
On Jan. 14, 2023, a........