Rather than continuing to repair Highway 1 at Pitkins Curve or attempting to stabilize a cliff face whose underlying geologic composition would not benefit from mitigating measures, Caltrans determined that bypassing the curve with a bridge would be an optimal solution. Repeated rock slides at Pitkins Curve have hollowed the side of the cliff into a concave shape; connecting either side of the carved-out area with a bridge will allow the slides to continue without affecting motorists on the bridge. The bypassed portion of the old highway will be left intact, but inaccessible to traffic, so that it will catch debris from future rock slides.

In April of 2011, a landslide damaged a 200-foot portion of California State Route 1—a historic part of our ...