Geologists, engineers puzzle over how to remove more than a million tons of rock and dirt from Highway 1

A southbound motorist turns around after hitting a dead end on Highway 1 where a massive landslide cut off the road north of Ragged Point in Monterey County.

A massive landslide along California’s coastal Highway 1 buried the road under a 40-foot layer of rock and dirt. A swath of the hillside gave way in an area called Mud Creek on Saturday, covering about one-third of a mile and changing the Big Sur coastline.

BIG SUR, CALIF. -- THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2017: A hillside came down on Highway 1 where a landslide cut off the road north of Ragged Point in Monterey County in Big Sur, Calif., on May 25, 2017. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Caltrans officials and media members gather on Highway 1 where a massive landslide cut off the road north of Ragged Point.

Mud and debris cloud the reconfigured coastline where a massive landslide obliterated Highway 1 at Mud Creek.

Highway 1 is cut in two where a massive landslide obliterated the road north of Ragged Point.

Caltrans resident engineer Rick Silva, left, and public information officer Jessica Bira survey Highway 1 where a landslide buried the road in Big Sur.

Caltrans resident engineer Rick Silva surveys the area above Highway 1 where a massive landslide obliterated the road.

Caltrans contractor Arleen Guzzie directs a motorist to a detour around the road closure on Highway 1 in Big Sur.