Authorities advised motorists to avoid California's Highway 1 along the central coast after a stretch collapsed during an Easter weekend storm, stranding drivers near Big Sur.
In heavy rain Saturday afternoon near Rocky Creek Bridge 17 miles south of Monterey, the two-lane road collapsed, throwing asphalt fragments into the ocean from the southbound side.
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) stopped the highway in both directions in the hilly central coast while engineers assessed the damage.
Rocky Creek shutdown on California Highway 1 in Monterey County, Calif., after heavy rain on March 31, 2024. Rocky Creek shutdown on California Highway 1 in Monterey County on Sunday after heavy rain.
Crews declared the northbound lane safe around noon on Sunday and began intermittently escorting traffic around the damaged area. The San Francisco Chronicle said that officials led the first convoy past the region while 300 automobiles waited to proceed northbound.
Caltrans spokesperson Kevin Drabinski said occasional convoys would continue as crews shore up the highway, which had other closures due to rocks and debris in lanes. He recommended avoiding the area.
National Weather Service meteorologist Ryan Kittell said the system was average for March but not an atmospheric river like others that have hit the state in recent winters.
The storm then settled over Southern California until Sunday night or Monday. Santa Barbara, Ventura, and L.A. counties could get showers and thunderstorms with lightning and severe gusts.
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