Highway 1 traverses 70 miles of mountains and cliffs above the blue Pacific, creating one of the world’s most dramatic road trips. Since opening in 1937, the route has suffered dozens of closures from hundreds of landslides, which often activate during winter rains.⁠ ⁠ The current closure is the longest anyone here can remember, and state officials offer no hope for reopening until at least the fall.⁠ ⁠ Quaint inns, art galleries and other shops that cater to tourists dread another summer cut off from crucial roadside visitors. Others relish the rare peace and quiet.⁠ ⁠ “At this point, it’s really a waiting game how long we can wait this out,” said Kirk Gafill, general manager of the hilltop Nepenthe Restaurant. The eatery, like most businesses, he added, has lost about a third of the customers who would usually motor up from Los Angeles and other points south. It has had “significant net losses” the past two years.⁠ ⁠ The Jan. 14, 2023, landslide, called Paul’s Slide, triggered the current shutdown. It dumped a half million cubic yards of mountainside on Highway 1 about 20 miles south of the village of Big Sur, or enough material to fill 23 football fields 10 feet high.⁠ ⁠ California Department of Transportation workers were finishing repairs in early 2024 when a new slide ruptured the highway just 5 miles north. That one is proving thornier to repair because the earth is still moving at the rate of a foot a day, necessitating the use of remote-control bulldozers for safety, said Caltrans spokesman Kevin Drabinski.⁠ ⁠ Still, he said Caltrans is committed to doing whatever it takes to keep Highway 1 open.⁠ ⁠ Some locals would be happy if the traffic never returned. “For me and people who don’t live paycheck to paycheck, let’s say it is also a time of miracle and wonder,” said 70-year-old Magnus Toren, executive director of the Henry Miller Memorial Library, a Big Sur landmark.⁠ ⁠ Read more and see more photos from @maxknightmax for @wsjphotos at the link in our bio.⁠ ⁠ Photos :