Highway 101 north of Leggett reopens after landslide

Highway 101 in northern Mendocino County has reopened following a week-long closure due to a landslide.

The highway north of Leggett has been closed since April 16, when some 10,000 cubic yards of soil slid onto the road from the adjacent hillside. The mountain continued to slip through the week, dumping another 15,000 cubic yards of rock and soil onto the road and hampering cleanup, said Caltrans spokesman Phil Frisbie.

Hundreds of truckloads of soil have been removed from the road since Wednesday, according to Caltrans' website.

The two-lane section of highway, about 6 miles north of Leggett, was undergoing repairs and already limited to one lane of traffic before the slide occurred. The road also was closed entirely March 10 following a previous landslide.

It's expected to be several more months before both traffic lanes can be reopened, Caltrans reported.

The closure has created an hours-long detour for drivers, who have been directed to use Highway I-5 to get around the slide.

Additional information is available on Caltrans' Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CaltransD1/