Land under part of the highway crumbled, taking the road with it.
ODOT said it has engineers on scene to assess the highway.
It said there is no timeline for when 101 will be back open, because the landslide might still be moving.
ODOT’s Matt Noble said, “there is also a lot of rain in the forecast for that area of the coast over the next several days and rain is one of the biggest causes of big slides like this.”
Noble said based on previous landslides, ODOT could potentially fill in the area with rocks and gravel to make a temporary road.
He said once they find a temporary fix, ODOT will either repair the section of road or reroute it entirely.
Curry County Emergency Management is also helping with the landslide.
Curry County Commissioners declared a local emergency.
This partially activates the county’s emergency operation center.*
Commissioner Brad Alcorn said the slide is active as of Monday.
ODOT recommends drivers reroute from the coast all the way to I-5 to go around the slide.
Curry County Legal Counselor Ted Fitzgerald said, “I’ve heard various rumors of ways to find a way around it, those at this time I would not recommend that people try those things out. Especially this time of year it can be really dicey and signage on those back country roads are questionable at best.”
He said people can easily get lost or stuck on back roads this time of the year.
They said getting supplies like food and gas to the county will not be a problem because Highway 199 is still open.
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