Devil's Slide tunnels close Friday night for emergency drills
December 4, 2014 Updated: December 4, 2014 10:58amThe rains have nothing to do with it this time, but Highway 1 will again be closed at Devil's Slide — for six hours late Friday and early Saturday.
Caltrans and the CHP will shut both bores of the Lantos Tunnel from 10 p.m. Friday until 4 a.m. Saturday for state-mandated emergency response drills.
The closure will repeat an all-too-familiar scenario, albeit briefly and in a planned manner this time, that led to the construction of the Devil's Slide Tunnel, which opened in March 2013.Before the tunnel opened, the precarious two-lane stretch of highway was often closed — sometimes for months — when heavy rains saturated the unstable cliffs, pulled the pavement toward the Pacific and dropped boulders onto the highway.
But this time, the closure is for required annual testing of the safety and communications systems in the tunnel and emergency response drills, said Vince Jacala, a Caltrans spokesman. The drill is expected to take place regardless of weather — unless flooding or a large volume of emergency calls require public safety agencies to head elsewhere.
The fourth bore of the Caldecott Tunnel also will be closed for similar training and testing from 10 p.m. Dec. 13 until 4 a.m. Dec. 14. Eastbound traffic will use bores 1 and 2 as usual while westbound traffic will use bore 3. Delays are anticipated.
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