At a Glance

Six months after a huge landslide along Big Sur's Highway 1, crews continue work to rebuild the road.The plan is to rebuild the roadway on top of the landslide as part of a $40 million project.Erosion could prove problematic for the rebuild, however.

It has been six months since a massive landslide unleashed 5 million cubic yards of rocks and dirt upon Big Sur's Highway 1, shutting down a major thoroughfare on which millions travel each year. The $40 million project remains under construction, even as the earth under the workers continues to settle, half a year after theslide that was so big, .

The Mud Creek area of Highway 1 has been closed for six months, and drivers have been forced to use a detour route that isn't along the coast. Officials are hopeful that the road will be reopened by the end of next summer, and they continue , according to the Los Angeles Times.

The landslide pushed 15 acres' worth of mud and rocks over the highway and into the sea, creating what is essentially a new shoreline, the report added. But as erosion eats away at the additional land along the shore, known as the "toe," engineers are fully aware that continued erosion could yield major problems for the reconstruction project.

"The earth is still adjusting and trying to find a state of equilibrium," engineering geologist John Duffy told the L.A. Times.

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Getting the road reopened is a big deal to the local community because so many visitors drive the famous cliffside roadway every year. They're treated to idyllic views of the Pacific coast in an experience that is what many picture when they think of California.

Landslides are always a possibility in California, a state where cliffs are as plentiful as sunny days. Forty miles up Highway 1, a stormy winter triggered a landslide that damaged the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge in February, and a miraculous rebuild was completed in October. This allowed businesses to be revived , according to KSBW.com.

"Saturday, I think we did a week's worth of business in one day," local restaurant owner Kirk Gafill told KSBW last month.

The urgency to recover quickly from infrastructure-damaging landslides is on the rise, especially along Highway 1, which continues to see more and more traffic with each passing year. Nowadays, some 3,000 vehicles travel Highway 1 every day, according to the L.A. Times. And with the increase in traffic comes a need to keep the roads clear of landslides, because there really isn't an offseason anymore.

"Highway 1 used to be a three-season road," Duffy told the L.A. Times. "Now it's open all year long."