Big Sur – The Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge on Highway 1 in Big Sur is beyond repair and will need to be removed and replaced, Caltrans said Tuesday.

Susana Cruz, a spokeswoman for Caltrans, said she doesn’t know the time frame for a new bridge to be built though it would likely be expedited.

“Bridges can take up to a year (to complete),” she said.

The bridge and its support columns have growing horizontal and vertical fractures after a landslide below the structure. Closures began after the damage was noticed earlier in the month. After recent storms brought multiple inches of rain to Big Sur and the Santa Lucia Range, the bridge was noticeably sagging on its northern end Tuesday.

Caltrans officials will further assess the bridge Wednesday and determine their course of action. Cruz said officials will try to determine if the bridge will fall on its own or if it needs to be demolished.

After the bridge moved 7 inches between Feb. 14 and Saturday, it moved several feet after the recent storm.

“We had measuring stakes and the storm just moved them all over the place,” Cruz said.

On Feb. 11, an individual walking under the bridge noticed fractures in one of the pillars and saw the ground under the base washing out from underneath. The bridge remained open to pedestrians for a period and Caltrans allowed one vehicle at a time over the bridge during two periods on Feb. 15. The bridge has remained closed to everyone, including emergency vehicles, ever since. Cruz said the bridge will remain closed indefinitely.

“That’s not going to happen any more, it’s just not safe,” she said.

By the end of the week, crews will drill into the ground underneath the bridge to provide more data.

“Drilling is the best way to check the slide, the depth, the different soils, the different slopes, to develop the best plan for a bridge to be built,” Cruz said.

Caltrans hopes to have the finding from the drilling by March 17.

Rain Monday and Tuesday caused more slides on Highway 1 along the Big Sur coast. Slides closed the highway at various times at Granite Canyon, River Inn and Captain Cooper Elementary School. The rain led the Big Sur River to flood late Monday night, cresting at 12.23 feet, above its moderate flood stage of 10 feet.

Rain let up overnight Monday into Tuesday and Monterey County lifted evacuation orders for Bolsa Knolls and Carmel Valley.

The Bolsa Knolls community flooded Monday after the Santa Rita Creek overflowed. Residents were cleaning up the mess and assessing the damage Tuesday. The National Weather Service canceled a flood warning for the Carmel River on Tuesday morning as the river dropped below its flood stage.

“All the rivers and larger streams around our area are continuing a downward trend,” said Brian Garcia, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

The Carmel River at Robles del Rio crested at 9.99 feet, below its forecast of 10.5 feet and under the moderate flood stage of 11 feet but above the minor flood stage mark of 8.5 feet. Homes along Paso Hondo Road in Carmel Valley flooded again, after flooding twice last month.

In Soledad, the Salinas River is forecasted to crest at 19.8 feet Wednesday, above the moderate flood stage of 18 feet, because of reservoir releases and increased flow from the Arroyo Seco.

County residents who experienced storm damage can go to a disaster resources directory created by the Office of Emergency Services at bit.ly/2bS2Dil for information ranging from how remove debris to how to replace damaged or lost documents.

Many roads in Monterey County remain closed because of storm damage ranging from landslides to downed trees and washed out roads. Cachagua Road was closed Tuesday after most of the road washed out at mile marker 1.2.

The area should get a chance to dry out over the next couple of days before another storm moves in over the weekend.

“Once we get into the weekend, we’re watching another system pretty closely to see how it plays out,” Garcia said.

Tommy Wright can be reached at 831-726-4375.