One-way controlled traffic has resumed on U.S. 101 at Last Chance Grade following a landslide early Sunday morning. | Photo courtesy of Caltrans District 1

Motorists traveling through Last Chance Grade south of Crescent City will have to contend with one-way controlled traffic on U.S. 101 for a few days, a Caltrans spokesman said Monday.

A landslide shuttered the roadway at about midnight on Sunday. Caltrans reopened the highway at about 12:25 p.m. and are currently monitoring the situation, said Myles Cochrane, public information officer for District 1.

“So long as the roadway is open it’s safe for travel,” he told Wild Rivers Outpost. “When we have slide activity there, we’re very careful to have monitors checking out the situation to make sure if there’s any slide activity that we close the roadway down and take care of the debris in the road so we can get traffic moving there safely.”

Del Norte County received 4-6 inches of precipitation over a 48 hour period during the weekend with another 1-2 inches expected Tuesday night through Wednesday night, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Josh Wood.

Thunderstorms are also expected Tuesday night through Wednesday night, according to Wood. And with saturated soils, particularly in the region’s burn scars, there may also be urban and small stream flooding, he said.

Heavy rain and high surf is expected to continue in the region, according to the National Weather Service. Higher elevations could see 1 to 2.5 inches of additional precipitation Monday.

According to Cochrane, Caltrans District 1 Director Matt Brady issued a $2.5 million contract to respond to the slide at Last Chance Grade. The slide that shut the road down early Sunday morning was smaller in comparison with the landslide that prompted a months-long response back in 2021, Cochrane said. He said he was still trying to find out estimates of how much debris was on the road.

Cochrane added that the recent slide won’t erase the progress the department has made over the years to shore up the hillside at Last Chance Grade. He pointed out that reopening U.S. 101 to two-way traffic in September was based on a large number of things.

“There was wall work and a slide response and there were roadway repairs and grade repairs, slope stability,” he said. “This is essentially what we’re used to at Last Chance Grade, which is just a one-off slide. Unfortunately Last Chance Grade is an area that is just prone to slide activity.”

Meanwhile, there have been no traffic issues related to the most recent rainy period on U.S. 199 through the Smith River Complex burn scars yet, Cochrane said. However, Caltrans is monitoring that area since it is more prone to slide activity, he said.

“As long as the roadway’s open it’s safe,” Cochrane said. “It’s definitely a priority for us to monitor the situation there as well.”

For more information about road conditions, call 1-800-427-7623 or click here.

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