Photo by Caltrans.

After undermining an unstable slide on Route 1 west of Leggett, Caltrans is biding its time and waiting for the slide to, well … slide.

Caltrans reports on its Facebook page that the slide, which stretches about halfway up the mountain and continues down to the South Fork Eel River below, is currently too dangerous for crews to work on.

So in order to speed things along, Caltrans has poked at it a bit in hopes of bringing the whole thing down during this weekend’s anticipated rainstorm.

“We essentially have to wait for the slide to come to us,” Caltrans wrote on Facebook.

Once the slide slides again, crews will revaluate the slide and begin work to stabilize the hillside where the slide slid. Until then, Route 1 will remain slide. Closed.

Slide more from Slidetrans below.

Caltrans Facebook Post:

 

This photo came from one of the two slides just west of Leggett on Route 1 in Mendocino County. 

As you can see, this slide stretches a good way up the side of the mountain and continues all the way down to the river below. 

While we’ve cleared the roadway for construction traffic, the slide itself is still unstable and unsafe to work on. Because of this, we essentially have to wait for the slide to come to us.

We’ve undermined the slide to help create ideal conditions for the slide to come down during the next rainfall, which is expected this weekend. 

Once we’ve brought more of the slide material down, we’ll re-evaluate it and make sure it’s safe for our contractors to work on. After that, we’ll be able to begin work to stabilize the hillside and reopen the highway.