Sinkhole Opens in Middle of California Highway
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Highway 1 in California was partially closed on Sunday after a sinkhole opened up, according to local transportation officials.
Newsweek contacted California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) for additional information via email, outside of standard working hours on Monday.
Why It Matters
Officials warned that the Monday morning commute would be affected as crews worked to repair the road damage caused by the sinkhole.
A sinkhole is an area of ground with no natural external surface drainage. Their size can range from just a few feet to several hundred acres, and depths may span less than a foot to over 100 feet.
Most sinkholes develop gradually, making changes hard to notice, but they can also appear suddenly due to a collapse, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
What To Know
According to Caltrans, the sinkhole formed on southbound Highway 1 on Sunday near Buena Vista Drive.
The highway's far-left lane was closed following the incident, California Highway Patrol (CHP) said on Sunday, adding that drivers should expect delays in the area and that there was no estimated time for reopening.
Southbound traffic was limited to a single lane roughly half a mile north of Watsonville, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
In an update, CHP said the road's left lane would stay shut down through Sunday night.
Images posted to social media by Caltrans District 5, which serves Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties, showed crews working to repair damage caused to the road by the sinkhole.
Images show crews working to repair the road on June 1 in California.
Images show crews working to repair the road on June 1 in California.
Caltrans
What People Are Saying
California Highway Patrol wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday: "A sinkhole has formed on SB SR-1 southbound near Buena Vista Drive. The far left lane is closed. Expect delays in the area, with no estimated time for reopening."
Caltrans District 5 wrote on X on Sunday: "Ongoing closure of the #1 (left) lane of southbound Hwy. 1 at Buena Vista Dr. near Freedom to remain in effect during morning commute hours on Monday, June 2. Please allow extra travel time thru the corridor. Crews continue with repairs to a sinkhole which formed on Sunday 6/1."
It also said: "Travelers on Southbound Hwy. 1 in Santa Cruz County near Freedom will encounter a closure of the #1 (left) lane at Buena Vista Dr. for emergency road repairs. No estimate for reopening. Please be alert for crews and emergency responders."
What Happens Next?
Caltrans said the closure would remain in effect through morning commute hours on Monday. Travelers were advised to allow extra time to travel through the corridor.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
14 hours ago
- CBS News
Brush fire in Chino Hills forces 71 Freeway closure
Both sides of the 71 Freeway were closed on Wednesday afternoon in Chino Hills as crews battled a brush fire. The blaze was reported before 2:20 p.m. The California Highway Patrol said all lanes of the 71 Freeway were closed at the Euclid Avenue onramp in Chino Hills. According to Caltrans, the closure caused a traffic backup to the 91 Freeway in Corona on the northbound lanes, and to Pine Avenue on the southbound lanes. The CHP urged travelers to avoid the area. It's not yet clear when the freeway will reopen. No additional details, including acreage, were immediately made available.
The Hill
2 days ago
- The Hill
How ‘corn sweat' can make a hot summer day even worse
(NEXSTAR) — Forget the dog days of summer — it's corn sweat season. Through the end of July, the National Weather Service has warned that a large stretch of the country — from Louisiana to Minnesota and eastward — is expected to experience 'dangerous, prolonged heat' coupled with humid weather. For those in the Midwest and across the Corn Belt, the high humidity can be attributed in part to the plethora of corn (and other crops) growing in the region. As Ellen Bacca, chief meteorologist at Nexstar's WOOD, explains, corn and crops 'sweat' just like humans when they become hot. Unlike humans, plants bring water from their roots and release it into the air in a process known as evapotranspiration. Have this giant, noxious weed in your yard? How to get rid of it — without burning yourself Estimates from the U.S. Geological Survey say that a single acre of corn can release 3,000 to 4,000 gallons of water vapor daily. As Nexstar's WGN previously reported, in Illinois alone, the National Weather Service said a mature corn crop is capable of producing more than 35 billion gallons of water vapor in a day. That would be enough to fill over 52,500 Olympic-size swimming pools. Iowa and other areas known for growing large expanses of corn can frequently be the most humid locations in the country. That was true Tuesday: data from the National Weather Service shows dew points in the upper 70s across Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Only Florida and the southern portions of the Gulf states had higher early afternoon dew points. The corn sweat effect has grown from a hyper-local event to a more expansive situation due to climate change, according to Brian James, chief meteorologist with the Nexstar Weather Center said Tuesday. 'The increased humidity caused by very large corn fields is a phenomenon that has become even more amplified due to climate change,' he explained. 'A warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture. That means as the summer heat builds and temperatures rise across the Corn Belt, the increased humidity is leading to heat index values above 110 degrees over a much larger area than what used to occur.' The latest temperature outlook from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center shows that, across the Lower 48, only California and parts of Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan and the Northeast are likely to see below-average temperatures during the final week of July. All other parts of the country — especially areas from the southern Plains, across the Gulf Coast and into the southern Ohio Valley — have a higher chance of seeing above-normal temperatures. Any corn sweat that increases humidity will, of course, only last a few more months.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Major crashes involving melons, trash on 5 Freeway snarl traffic
LOS ANGELES - Two major traffic crashes - one involving scattered melons and the other leaving a large pile of trash on fire - have shut down roads on the 5 Freeway in Boyle Heights and Tustin Tuesday morning. What we know A large 18-wheeler, a semi-truck carrying a load of melons, overturned on the transition road Monday just after 11 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. Following the collision, a hard closure of the transition road was requested and implemented. The incident blocked at least one lane, making it impassable for other vehicles. A diesel spill was reported but has since been contained, with no hazardous materials (hazmat) team needed for the cleanup. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) assisted by shutting down the Mission Road on-ramp to southbound I-5. A SigAlert was issued due to the significant traffic disruption and has since been extended to account for ongoing recovery efforts. Cleanup operations are estimated to take about four hours in total, with the transition road expected to remain closed for at least another two hours from the current time. Meanwhile in the Tustin area, a garbage truck apparently lost its load, which caught on fire on the northbound 5 Freeway at Fourth Street. The incident happened in the middle of the 5 Freeway right by the 55 Freeway. At this time, two northbound lanes are open while crews work to put out the fire and clear the trash. A SigAlert remains in effect. What we don't know The causes of both crashes are under investigation. It's unclear if anyone was injured. Authorities have not said when roads will reopen. The Source Information for this story is from the California Highway Patrol.
