Skip to main content

Big Sur Slide Spectactular Part 5; New Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge Opens

By
On the 19th I had an opportunity to drive down from Monterey to Big Sur to the recently completed new Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge on California State Route 1.  Given Pfeiffer Canyon just reopened on October the 13th, the CA 1 BGS sign at the Carmel River was changed to reflect that fact that Lucia as far south as Gorda can now be reached by car.


Rather than re-post all the photos of Big Sur along CA 1 like I have many times this year I'll just refer anyone interested in viewing them to my Flickr page:

Big Sur Slide Spectacular Part 5 album

I think most people who view this blog really just want to see the new Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge.  My approach was southbound past some still active Caltrans crews.






There was a handy pull-off of the south side of the new bridge which allowed me to get a good look at the structure.



The lanes on the new Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge are 12 feet wide with 5 feet shoulders.  The new bridge time stamp is easily reached with the extra wide shoulders.





The previous Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge was constructed by 1968 and was a concrete box girder design.  The 1968 bridge replaced a wooden road bridge which likely was in place when CA 1 was being built in the Big Sur region in the 1930s.

BigSurKate Blog on 1968 Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge

Back in February of this year the 1968 Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge was damaged in mudslides.  Specifically the slides damaged the support pillars which necessitated Caltrans declaring the bridge condemned on February the 20th.  The new bridge design is a single steel span which should in theory be a much better design to clear the slide zone in Pfeiffer Canyon.  The San Francisco Gate has a partial time lapse of the new Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge construction.

San Francisco Gate on Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge opening

CA 1 through Big Sur won't be completely open until the Mud Creek Slide zone is rebuilt.  Current projections have the entire highway being reopened by summer of 2018.  At present moment CA 1 can be used south from Monterey along the Nacimiento-Fergusson Road to reach County Route G14.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

By
After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
4 comments
Read more

Finding the Pre-Emption Road of New York State

By
  The Pre-Emption Road (or rather a series of roads named Pre-Emption Road) follows a survey line called the Pre-Emption Line, drawn in the early days of the United States. The story begins with Massachusetts and New York having competing land claims to modern day Western New York State that have their roots in colonial charters granted by the British. After the Revolutionary War ended, this land became the frontier of the nation and its settlement became a priority for the new American government. During this era, there were a lot of competing land claims that needed to be settled. It was no different with the land claims between New York State and Massachusetts. On November 30, 1786, Massachusetts and New York sent representatives to Hartford, Connecticut to resolve their competing land claims. In less than three weeks, the representatives had reached a compromise. Massachusetts would receive pre-emption rights, meaning the right to sell the land after the Indian title ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more