Highway 1 in Big Sur reopens ahead of schedule following landslide in March

BIG SUR, Calif. (KFSN) -- A portion of Highway 1 leading into Big Sur reopens to the public Friday. This comes more than six weeks after a portion of the road collapsed south of Rocky Creek Bridge.

Governor Gavin Newsom's office said there will be one-way traffic with a temporary signal.

Before the reopening, a convoy brought primarily residents through the closure twice a day and only recently started taking the public into Big Sur.

RELATED: Isolated travelers escorted past Big Sur Hwy 1 road collapse as state parks remain closed

The road closure affected not only residents in the area but businesses too.

"It's been a significant financial impact on us, on the Big Sur River Inn as a business as well as the entire business community down here in Big Sur," said Colin Twohig, General Manager at the Big Sur River Inn. "Mostly hospitality, but every business down here has been impacted by the limited accessibility."

Newsom's office says that the reopening is eight days ahead of the scheduled reopening that was set for Memorial Day.

Twohig said that the timing of this reopening, one weekend before Memorial Day weekend, couldn't have been better.

"The biggest benefit to us is it gives us the time as well as our hospitality neighbors to get on social media, call and email our guests and try and get the word out as far and as wide as possible that all of Big Sur is open before Memorial Day weekend, and that everyone can come down and kick off their summer in Big Sur," Twohig said.

RELATED: Public convoys now available on Hwy 1 as repairs continue following road collapse in Monterey Co.

It's important to note that travelers coming from north of Big Sur can get through. However, Highway 1 is still closed further south at Paul's Slide preventing a straight-through trip to places like San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.

"That's still not possible," Twohig said. "But it is a great time to come visit the Northern section of the Big Sur coast in the Big Sur Valley, see everything you'd like to see and then head back to Monterey and take the inland route down and catch Highway 1 down in Cambria or San Luis Obispo."

As for now, the stabilized portion of Highway 1 at Rocky Creek the governor's office says that a project to construct a permanent repair is in the design phase.

The goal is for that to be finished in the Spring of 2025.