Major Slide At Mud Creek

State Route 1 In Monterey County

The Mud Creek (PM 8.9) area on State Route 1 sustained a major event on Saturday evening, May 20 when over a million tons of rock and dirt fell down the slope continuing down to the ocean floor 250 feet off the shoreline.

The Mud Creek area is 1/4 mile in length, made up of five slides, four of which fell during this single event and consolidated into one slide. The remaining slide now extends 1,500 feet in length over State Route 1 and is about 35 to 40 feet deep.

Roadwork at Mud Creek was suspended and heavy equipment removed last week due to the threat of new slides and for safety of highway workers. Caltrans geologists and engineers plan to assess it further when this area stabilizes.

There is no estimate when this section of State Route 1, approximately nine miles north of the San Luis Obispo/Monterey County line will re-open.