Skip to main content

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

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.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Abandoned US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon

Within the Truckee River Canyon in the Sierra Nevada range numerous abandoned portions of US Route 40 can be found alongside modern Interstate 80.   This segment of highway was opened during 1926 as a bypass of the Dog Valley Grade which carried the early North Lincoln Highway and Victory Highway. The corridor of the Truckee River Canyon State Highway would be assigned as US Route 40 when the US Route System was commissioned during November 1926. During 1958 the segment of Interstate 80 between Boca, California and the Nevada state line was complete. When Interstate 80 opened east of Boca numerous obsolete portions of US Route 40 were abandoned. Some of these abandoned segments have been incorporated into the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail.  Part 1; the history of US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon The Truckee River Canyon for centuries has been an established corridor of travel known to native tribes crossing the Sierra Nevada range.  The first documented wagon crossi...

Former California State Route 41 past Bates Station

When California State Route 41 was commissioned during August 1934 it was aligned along the then existing Fresno-Yosemite Road north of the San Joaquin River.  Within the Sierra Nevada foothills of Madera County, the original highway alignment ran past Bates Station via what is now Madera County Road 209, part of eastern Road 406 and Road 207.   Bates Station was a stage station plotted during the early 1880s at what was the intersection of the Coarsegold Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road.   The modern alignment bypassing Bates Station to the east would be reopened to traffic during late 1939.   Part 1; the history of California State Route 41 past Bates Station Bates Station was featured as one of the many 1875-1899 Madera County era towns in the May 21, 1968, Madera Tribune .  Post Office Service at Bates Station is noted to have been established on November 23, 1883 and ran continuously until October 31, 1903.  The postal name was sourced...

Former US Route 50 and the Pioneer Route Lincoln Highway on Johnson's Pass Road

Johnson's Pass Road is one of the oldest highway corridors in California.  Johnson's Pass was part of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road as it was completed during 1856 over the Sierra Nevada.  The pass would later be incorporated into the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway in 1913 and US Route 50 in 1926.  Johnson's Pass Road would be bypassed by a new alignment of US Route 50 over Echo Summit in 1938.  A replacement of the Meyers Grade east of Johnson's Pass would be opened to traffic in 1947.   Johnson's Pass Road remains accessible to traffic and is still signed by the Lincoln Highway Association.  Pictured as the blog cover is the view from the top of Johnson's Pass Road overlooking modern US Route 50 and Lake Tahoe.   Part 1; the history of Johnson's Pass Much of the history of what become the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road is discussed in the  September 1950 California Highways & Public Works  during its Centennial Edition.  The or...