Work on a slipped-out stretch of Highway 1 just north of Devil's Slide bedeviled commuters last week as CalTrans crews performed tests on the fragile cliffside.
The problem, known as a "slip-out cliff retreat," according to CalTrans, was the result of wind, rain and wave action. CalTrans will install a retaining wall that will be back-filled with dirt to shore up the slip-out. The project is expected to cost about $1 million, although plans have not been finalized.
"The slip-out is just north of the slide-plane area," said CalTrans spokesman Jeff Weiss, referring to the site of last year's slide that closed the road for more than six months.
He said the recent problem and the problems at Devil's Slide are unrelated.
One-lane traffic controls were in effect Monday through Friday last week while crews drilled holes into the section of the cliff to determine how to best install a retaining wall. Installation of the wall is scheduled for this fall and should take about a month, Weiss said.
The slip-out did not pose any immediate danger, but CalTrans chose to fix the problem now because it had available crews.
"As soon as we could fit it into the schedule we did it," Weiss said.