A portion of Highway 1 near Big Sur that was covered by a landslide reopened July 18, about two months ahead of schedule. The landslide, which hit May 2017, was caused by heavy rains and dropped about 6 million cu yd of dirt on the roadway, displacing 50 acres of road and creating 16 acres of new California coastline.
The $54-million California Dept. of Transportation project to repair the highway at a location called Mud Creek was led by San Luis Obispo, Calif.-based John Madonna Construction Co. The company's CEO, John Madonna, said his crew worked seven days a week and 12 hours a day to shave time off the job. To repair the damaged roadway, crews created a foundation with 200,000 tons of riprap to maintain the newly created land so that Highway 1 can now cross what used to be the Pacific Ocean.