Highway 1 will be closed from Montara to Pacifica between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. next Monday, Jan. 8, through Thursday, Jan. 11, while road crews finish installation of a ground movement detection system and fix the road's drainage system.
Jeff Weiss, spokesman for the California Department of Transportation, said the daytime closures are necessary because the occasional one-lane closures the agency has used since August have caused the project to drag on too long. Weiss said it is too dangerous for construction crews to work in rain or heavy fog with only one lane open. With the road closed, he said, the work can be completed regardless of the weather.
Weiss said nighttime closures of the road would not allow the crews to work as fast because of decreased visibility. He also said a nighttime closure would cost more because of the lighting system that would have to be used.
Last month, CalTrans announced that the installation of a ground movement detection system on the sliding portion of Highway 1 was complete except for a few final electronic components that were on order.
During last month's storm, the road was temporarily closed because of problems with a newly installed drainage system.