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Retaining wall failure on Hwy 101 narrows road A section of Highway 101 south of Crescent City slipped Wednesday, narrowing the road to one lane. [CALTRANS] Thursday Mar 9, 2017 at 10:38 AM Mar 9, 2017 at 10:38 AM By Tony Reed Curry Coastal Pilot A retaining wall failed Tuesday on Highway 101 12 miles south of Crescent City, California, causing the shoulder and part of the southbound lane near mile marker 14.42 to collapse. “The highway lost another 10 feet of width and is down to 18 feet for the one lane of traffic,” a Caltrans alert stated. “Caltrans staff believe the highway is still safe and the highway remains open at this time.” Caltrans spokesman Myles Cochrane said Tuesday said that intermittent full closures of the highway for up to an hour would occur overnight to allow crews to drive 8-inch, concrete-filled steel rods into the ground below the remaining lane to keep it stable. Daytime traffic will remain under one-way control. “We have crews working around the clock there, and we have plans to shore it up,” said Cochrane. “We have a couple ways to assess the area. We have real-time monitoring equipment there and we are watching it 24/7.” Cochrane said any further loss of the roadway will likely result in closure until it can be repaired. “Hopefully, they can drive the piles in and dig into the hill a little bit to make another lane and free it up to two-way traffic,” he said. He said that should a section of U.S. 101 fail, Caltrans will create a detour around that area as quickly as possible. “We do have a priority to keep it open as long as possible,” Cochrane said, “but if we have to close it, we will.” The National Weather Service website showed a 10-day forecast of continued rain and wind but with a lower chance of rain Friday to Sunday.