BIG SUR – Caltrans is introducing remote-controlled equipment for use at Regent’s Slide, allowing operators to take more risk than they would with dozers and excavators that had people on board.
“Training on the new equipment began in the second week of March,” said Caltrans District 5 spokesperson Kevin Drabinski. “The remote-controlled equipment has been used in tandem with traditional machinery since the middle of March. Excavation has continued as site conditions allow.”
Regent’s Slide — post mile 27.8 — occurred March 9, 2024, and started seeing top-down removal of slide material by crews on April 30, 2024. The slide originated 450 feet above the roadway, displacing material that engulfed Highway 1 and continuing down to the beach and ocean below.
Working closely with Caterpillar Inc. and other contracting partners, the incorporation of this technology is intended to increase production and protect worker safety at Regent’s Slide where crews are challenged by the height, steepness, and instability of the slide, according to Caltrans.
In August, continued slide activity in and around the Regent’s Slide repair site on Highway 1 halted excavation work for a time.
“The slide which appeared last August, and which forced us to begin work higher up the slope continues to move daily,” said Drabinski. “When we load the head of the slide with debris, the new slide accelerates beyond its typical movement of one foot per day. We may back off from excavation if measurements indicate the acceleration is too rapid. So we continue to do the dance of loading the slide and backing off of it as site conditions indicate.”
Caltrans continues to perform daily geologic assessments to determine if it is safe to conduct repair work. Given these conditions, the introduction of remote-controlled equipment will allow Caltrans to take more risks.
Bulldozer and excavator operators have been trained to use this remote-controlled equipment that can perform under certain adverse site conditions and at locations that may otherwise not be safe for crews to operate. Remote-controlled equipment capabilities will be used to complement ongoing traditional repair strategies.
“While repairs to Regent’s Slide are now expected to keep Highway 1 in this area closed through summer 2025, Caltrans will provide regular updates on progress on these slide repairs and an estimated reopening date,” said Drabinski. “More will be known when the efficiencies of this remote-controlled equipment are realized.”
Once work at Regent’s Slide is complete it would open up Highway 1 to direct travel between Carmel and Cambria.
Currently, visitors coming from the north are able to travel to Big Sur, its businesses and surrounding area up to the northern-most closure point at Lime Creek — post mile 32.1 — just south of the Esalen Institute, while travelers from the communities of Cambria, San Simeon, and the south coast continue to be within reach from Southern California up to the southern-most closure point at south of Vicente Creek Bridge at post mile 25.3.
There is a 6.8-mile-wide segment of Highway 1 between the two turnaround points that remains inaccessible to through traffic due to the ongoing repair work at Regent’s Slide.
Road information and updates can also be found on Caltrans District 5 Social Media platforms: X/Twitter at: @CaltransD5, Facebook at: Caltrans Central Coast (District 5) and Instagram at: Caltrans_D5.