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Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge in Big Sur cracked beyond repair by rains, must be replaced.
A Big Sur bridge on Highway 1 is the latest victim of this season's brutal rainy season.
The Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge has multiple cracks in one of its support columns and and has been closed to traffic since Feb. 15. Caltrans announced after a bridge inspection on Tuesday that the structure is beyond repair, and it will take six months or more to build a new one.
"Due to extreme safety concerns and the bridge's dynamic instability, everyone needs to stay clear and not get within 100 feet of either side of the bridge," a statement from the government agency reads.
The closure means travelers can no longer make the complete road-trip along California's scenic Highway 1. Motorists may now only travel south on State Route 1 from Carmel to just south of Palo Colorado in Monterey County and north from Cambria to Ragged Point in San Luis Obispo County.
The problem began when heavy rains in the region caused landslides below the bridge; an entire hillside is slumping and sheared off where the support column on the north end of the bridge is anchored.
