Bad Place to Build a Road

[AlanLichty]

Highways that follow the Pacific coastline are highly prone to shifting land underneath them and Oregon has a few places that show this well. One of the worst is US101 just north of Newport near Beverly Beach State Park where the ground under the highway is anything but stable. The roadway has been rerouted inland several times now and will likely need to be moved again although it's not exactly how this will alleviate the problem. In this case the exposed ground above the beach consists of uplifted marine deposits that are loosely consolidated at best and easily eroded with slabs peeling off frequently undermining the roadway above. The very topmost few inches of this exposed cliff face is the asphalt of US101 crumbling off the edge of the southbound lane setting the stage for yet another round of roadway bandages to keep the highway alive. This stretch of US101 has been a road maintenance problem ever since they built US101 along this beach ever so many years ago. Bad for motorists but great job security for the highway maintenance workers. This particular small scale rockfall was only a couple of days old when I took the shot but you can see many more just like it walking the beach in either direction from Beverly Beach State Park.

C&C always welcome.

 

[JimFox]

Yep, the 101 gets closed all the time for road work. Not just up there but down through Big Sur it happens basically every year it feels like. Sometimes sections are closed off for 6 months to a year for them to rework and rebuild the cliff. But despite that, it's one of my favorite roads to drive, if anyone has not driven on the 101, especially in California, they really need to for a super fun experience.

And I like your image here Alan and how it catches the cliff peeling off.

 

[Jameel Hyder]

I have seen and experienced the detours along 101. Your image captures the title very well.

 

[AlanLichty]

Yep, the 101 gets closed all the time for road work. Not just up there but down through Big Sur it happens basically every year it feels like. Sometimes sections are closed off for 6 months to a year for them to rework and rebuild the cliff. But despite that, it's one of my favorite roads to drive, if anyone has not driven on the 101, especially in California, they really need to for a super fun experience.

And I like your image here Alan and how it catches the cliff peeling off.

Thanks Jim - CA1 and US101 are my favorite paths along the coast and I have traveled the length of US101 from San Diego to Neah Bay. CA1 has had quite a few reroutes over the years in a number of places I have seen. US101 along the coast in Oregon has several places with ongoing landslide issues and no easy fixes and the one shown above between Otter Crest and Newport is one of the worst.

 

[AlanLichty]

I have seen and experienced the detours along 101. Your image captures the title very well.

Thanks Jameel - there are 4 major trouble spots on US101 in Oregon from south to north: 1) Hooskanaden Creek just north of Arch Rock; 2) the grade just past the Cape Sebastian summit; 3) the grades just past Sisters Rock State Park; and 4) this one between Newport and Otter Crest. This one and #1 above have been the two worst over the past few decades with complete reroutes of the roadway.