A large chunk of California’s Highway 1 near Big Sur collapsed and fell into the Pacific Ocean after a winter storm triggered a mudslide, officials said. A California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Fifth District message warned drivers of the closure on Jan. 29 from a “partial washout.” The washout occurred near Rat Creek about 15 miles south of Big Sur, according to Caltrans, which added that Highway 1 remains open from Carmel to the town of Big Sur. Photos posted from the scene showed a significant piece of the hillside and road missing. Due to the size of the missing chunk, it appears that the section of Highway 1 will remain impassible for a considerable amount of time. Toks Omishakin, director of the California Department of Transportation, wrote that it could be several weeks before the highway is reconstructed. He called on people to “avoid this area” of Monterrey and San Luis …