governmental-liability public-office government
Is there any entity legally responsible for the Highway 1 collapse in California?
<p>It is lucky that no one was hurt, but someone could easily die in such a <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.foxnews.com/us/deadly-california-storm-floods-homes-washes-out-stretch-iconic-highway.amp" rel="nofollow noreferrer">collapse</a>. Should that happen, is there anyone legally responsible?</p>
<p>The news coverage talks extensively about how “this should be patched up soon”, but somehow I don’t see allegations of who should be responsible — which is a little surprising.</p>

<p>On the face of it, this appears to be due to landslide triggered by a violent storm; in legal terms, an &quot;Act of God&quot; for which no one is responsible.</p>
<p>There are individuals/corperations/entities who <em>could</em> be partially responsible; however, it is important to note that Highway 1 is old. Its construction began in 1934. Roads don't last forever, especially seaside roads.</p>
<p>Potentially responsible people include:</p>
<ol>
<li>Road builders, if shoddy or substandard construction contributed to the collapse.</li>
<li>Engineers, if road was of unsound design which contributed to the collapse (note that the seaside location was almost certainly a design requirement that was worked around).</li>
<li>Road Maintainers (currently CalTrans, the state transportation department): If poor or inadequate maintenance lead to the collapse.</li>
</ol>
<p>However, there is at the current moment no evidence that suggest any of the above failed in their duties.</p>
