A massive landslide covered California’s famous Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in 35 to 45 feet of soil and rock over a distance of 1,500 feet. Caltrans is calling the landslide ‘one of a kind’ and one of the biggest in the State’s recorded history, and ‘…by far the worst we have ever seen‘. Wired Magazine has a great before and after picture to view the magnitude of this massive landslide. The slide is also being called the Mud Creek slide. It cuts off the southern route into the popular tourist destination called Big Sur. The latest information is that the highway could be closed for months, possibly even more than 1 year. [Source: More info at SFist via AEG Insider. Image: John Madonna, Associated Press via SF Chronicle]
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Soledad Mountain Road Landslide Update
Residents of approximately 75 of the 111 homes evacuated after the slide have been allowed back into their homes. The City of San Diego is not wasting any time in determining the cause of the slide. The first of three 100-ft deep exploration shafts was excavated on Friday, and a Forensic Geologist from a firm hired by the City was sent down the hole to observe geology conditions and to locate the actual slip surface. Also, claims of leaking City water and/or sewer pipes prior to the failure have begun to surface. More details in the full post. (Photo by NELVIN CEPEDA / San Diego Union-Tribune)
National Work Zone Awareness Week, April 7-11 2008
April 7-11 is National Workzone Awareness Week (NWZAW) which draws attention to the hazards roadway construction crews face from motorists not heeding safety warnings. For 2006—the last year for which data is available—more than 1,000 died in work zones. Figures for 2007 will be released by the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse later this year. Motorists are also at risk for not following work zone safety precautions. They may face damage to their vehicles, injuries, and loss of life. For 2006, 614 motorists died in work zone crashes. (Graphic by Caltrans)
Below are a few items to think about the next time you’re driving through a workzone taken from a Caltrans fact sheet. More after the break (sorry for the “Duh†ones, but I didn’t write them). As someone who occasionally works on the road and knows many more people who do, please, please remember to slow down!
- Most injuries and deaths in the Cone Zone are from rear-end collisions.
- If you slow from 65 to 55 mph for one mile, you only lose 10 seconds on your travel time.
- The first cause of death for people aged 16 to 20 is car crashes. Even if you don’t lose your life causing a car crash, it could still cost you your license or a heavy fine.
- If a car’s speed is doubled, the stopping distance is doubled twice over. For example, if a car traveling at 30 mph requires 100 feet to stop, the same car at 60 mph takes not 200 but 400 feet to stop.
- At 60 mph, you’re traveling 88 feet per second. A lot can happen in one second, so give yourself plenty of room to stop in case of an emergency.
- For the 15,000 miles of California highway Caltrans maintains, it must buy 120,000 new cones every year to replace ones run over by careless drivers.