Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2021 January 31

= January 31 =

Highway repair
Incredible pic of a chunk of Highway 1 (California) that fell into the ocean during the recent storms. They apparently intend to fix it. How are they going to do that? It's an awful lot of shovelling even with earthmoving vehicles. 2602:24A:DE47:BB20:50DE:F402:42A6:A17D (talk) 21:46, 31 January 2021 (UTC)
 * I think it's too early to ask that question. Obvious possibilities include some sort of action to stabilize the slide surface, then slewing the highway inland over the relevant bit, diverting a longer section of the route, and building a new bridge over the slide area. --142.112.149.107 (talk) 09:22, 1 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Around that spot Highway 1 has plenty of twists and turns, so there is no need to aim for restoring a straight connection. --Lambiam 10:03, 1 February 2021 (UTC)
 * A similar recurring problem at Devil's Slide on the same route resulted in the Tom Lantos Tunnels. A quicker and cheaper option would be to build a new revetment and see how long it lasts. I gather that the main reason for not abandoning the road altogether is that it's a major tourist attraction. In France, the astonishing Grands Goulets road a "balcony road" that clings to the side of a limestone cliff, was permanently closed in 2005 when it became too difficult to repair. Alansplodge (talk) 12:39, 1 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Part of the problem is that in Big Sur, where the road damage was, there isn't really an alternate route. The communities in the area that use that stretch of road have to go hundreds of miles out of their way to avoid that damaged road.  Lets say you lived south of the break, and need to get to Monterey.  You need to now go southeast 60 miles to CA 46, up US 101 north to CA 68.  You've turned a 40-50 mile drive into a 250 mile drive.  If you lived north of the break and need to get to San Luis Obispo, you've got a similar length drive.  Big Sur is a remote region, but people do live there in places like Slates Hot Springs and Posts and Lucia along with various homes scattered along CA 1 itself, and CA 1 is their lifeline to the outside world.  The Santa Lucia Range are extremely rugged, and there isn't really any useful roads over them.  According to Google Maps, there are a few extremely rugged U.S. Forest Service roads, but the state highways routes around are still faster.  CA 1 needs to exist, despite the difficulty maintaining it, because of the need for a through route in the area.  -- Jayron 32 13:18, 1 February 2021 (UTC)


 * One option is to build a viaduct instead of a cut road like was there. Probably more expensive in the short term, but may be less maintenance in the long term.  I'm thinking of something like the Linn Cove Viaduct on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  -- Jayron 32 13:20, 1 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Why a duck? Why a no chicken? --M @ r ē ino 15:39, 2 February 2021 (UTC)