Construction paused at Paul’s Slide, businesses see a 30% decrease since Highway 1 closure

BIG SUR, Calif. (KION) - The pause in construction at Paul’s Slide slowing down some Big Sur Businesses.

The road closure, making it difficult for people to get to some of the most beautiful parts of the central coast.

The owner of Nepenthe says he kind of feels like his business is on an island ever since the construction on Pauls Slide. With a pause on that construction, he says he has been seeing fewer people walk through his doors.

Two miles of road on Highway 1 has been closed since January from the south end of Limekiln State Park to the town of Lucia.

"Unquestionably, the longer the highway is closed, the accumulated incremental effects of that do create greater and greater economic cost to the community." says Kirk Gafill, owner of Nepenthe.

Businesses along the coast have been waiting patiently for the reopening, but were sad to hear there has been a pause in construction.

"When highway one is one, it is the primary destination for many guests from all over the world. and when there are blockages or impediments to traveling, say, from los angeles to san francisco," says Gafill.

Gafill tells me ever since the closure he has been seeing about a 30 percent decrease in customers.

"The fact goes beyond just sales for the businesses, it means fewer hours for employees. Their income levels are reduced as a result of the lower business levels, and there are fewer job opportunities as a result of that," says Gafill.

Caltrans says it’s have been hard at work ever since the slide was reported, but with recent slide activity, it will not put their employees at risk.

"We got to a point where we were noticing increased slide activity up there. we needed to pause for primarily for the safety of our crews, But also to allow our geotech teams to assess the new conditions," said Kevin Drabinski, Caltrans District 5 spokesperson.

There is a lot of work Caltrans is doing behind the scenes.

"We need to design a repair strategy which takes into account the conditions we're facing today and will provide for a repair that will last for years in the future. we're taking their time and we're taking our time deliberately," said Drabinski.

Gafill has seen slides occur near the Big Sur coast for decades. He says there’s a silver lining to them.

"It's an incredible time to be here because you don't have to share the highway or the parks or the beaches with as many visitors as you might otherwise have to," says Gafill.

There is no estimate of when the Highway 1 at Pauls Slide will reopen.

Before the pause, Caltrans says crews had been working 7 days a week.