October 5, 2010 Update
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October 1, 2010 Update
The San Francisco Chronicle just posted an update from Michael Cabanatuan, chronicle writer, who noted the following:
The breakthrough, as it’s known in the tunnel-building business, will happen about a month ahead of schedule. It’s a significant achievement, but not just for the tunneling crews and Caltrans engineers, who are building the state’s first highway tunnel since the third bore of the Caldecott Tunnel opened in 1964.
It’s also big news for those who live in nearby coastal communities that are isolated every few years when rains cause Devil’s Slide to live up to its name, sending rocks tumbling onto Highway 1, buckling the pavement and closing the road. And it’s a sign of progress for San Mateo Count residents, who voted in 1996 for Measure T, which called for construction of the twin-bore tunnel instead of a six-lane bypass through the coastal hills.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/10/01/MNR11FLSKG.DTL#ixzz118LetZC3
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July 28, 2010 Update
Below is a recent update from by Lily Bixler from The Half Moon Bay Review on the continuing work on the project.
With an over-exaggerated rounding of his headlamp, a tunnel worker deep inside the belly of the Devil’s Slide excavation signals right of way to an approaching big rig. Once the worker stops the circular motion, the sticker on his helmet comes into focus: “I love explosives.”
Around 35 tunnels into his career, Caltrans safety consultant Tom LeRoux has a resume “10 pages thick” and says, at this point, his olfactory senses can distinguish tunnels. Some smell like sewage because of the hydrogen sulfate; others take on the odor of dynamite. And the 4,200-foot twin tunnels that evade Devil’s Slide by burrowing through Montara Mountain?
According to LeRoux, this tunnel project “smells like money.” In total, the northbound and southbound individual bores, a set of bridges and an operations center cost $342 million, which is pretty average when compared to similar tunnels like the $420 million Caldecott fourth bore being built to connect Oakland and Contra Costa County. But this one is unique because it’s the first such tunnel in California since 1964.
Storms in 2005 and 2006 washed out Devil’s Slide on Highway 1, and months of road closure took a toll on tourism on the Coastside. The storms also took the wind out of many commuters who were forced to take a circuitous route to points beyond the coast.
To read the rest of the story, visit The Half Moon Bay Review online.
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June 19, 2010 Update
Check out this June 19, 2010 article on SFGate.com about the ongoing San Mateo County Devil’s Slide Tunnel project, where twin tunnels are being constructed to carry traffic around Devil’s Slide through San Pedro Mountain.
No one will be happier than residents of the coastal communities who depend on that scenic but unstable stretch of Highway 1.
The Devil’s Slide tunnel will be California’s first highway tunnel built since 1964, when the third bore of the East Bay’s Caldecott Tunnel opened. Tunneling is dirty and dangerous work, and progress is slow. Workers wear not only the usual hardhats, reflective vests and other construction safety gear, they also carry flashlights or headlamps, respirators and emergency “self rescue kits” that provide oxygen in the event of an accident like a gas leak, collapse, fire or power failure.
When started:
Now, more recently, on June 12, 2010:
