Caltrans is targeting March 8 for the expected reopening of a section of Highway 1 along the Monterey County coast that was buried by two landslides earlier this month.

The landslides occurred Feb. 8 and 9 near Big Sur, with the Dolan Point Slide occurring at milepost 29.5 and the Regent’s Slide at milepost 27.8 on Highway 1.

Caltrans crews installed concrete anchors into the slope around the Dolan Point Slide to allow specialized spider excavators to be used. The spider excavators are suited to operate in the steep terrain of the surrounding area, according to a news release from the California Department of Transportation.

A closeup of the landslide at Dolan Point on Highway 1. Caltrans expects to have this portion of the highway cleared by March 8. (Caltrans District 5/Twitter)

The Regent’s Slide area is being subjected to geotechnical surveys, and a repair strategy is expected to be recommended in the coming weeks. An estimated re-opening date for the area sourounding Regent’s Slide has not been announced.

Highway 1 near the Dolan Point Slide is expected to re-open on March 8.

The northern closure on Highway 1 is expected to remain at milepost 32.1 until repairs on both the Dolan Point and Regent’s Slides are completed. The southern closure point is at milepost 20, south of Limekiln State Park. In total, 12.1 miles of the road are closed.

Weather conditions are expected to delay progress on both projects, according to the news release.