The new Devil’s Slide tunnels through San Pedro Mountain open this week, which means a final end to a nail-biting drive on Highway 1 through cliffs famous for landslides and emergency closures.
It’s a moment to remember that the $439 million project, paid with federal highway funds, could have had a somewhat different outcome. Local conservationist Peter Drekmeier remembers an old Caltrans plan that would have bisected Montara Mountain and may have changed forever the undeveloped coastline.