Road trip returns! California's iconic Highway 1 along the Big Sur coastline reopens more than a year after it was buried under 40 feet of rock during mammoth landslide

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A scenic stretch of Highway 1 in a popular tourist area along the California coast has reopened to traffic more than a year after it was blocked off by a massive landslide.

The newly built, two-lane stretch of road in Big Sur opened on Wednesday - two days ahead of schedule, according to the California Department of Transportation.

The stretch of scenic highway was buried in up to 40 feet of stone and dirt after the mammoth landslide in May last year. More than one million tons of rock and dirt tumbled down a saturated slope in the area called Mud Creek.

The slide covered up about a quarter-of-a-mile stretch of the highway.

The newly built, two-lane stretch of road in Big Sur, California opened on Wednesday - two days ahead of schedule 

The transportation department posted a photogram on Twitter on Wednesday that showed the new road and said it's now 'OPEN for business'.

Construction workers made good progress and officials decided to reopen it ahead of a ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled for Friday. 

Big Sur, with miles of rugged coast, cliffs and wilderness about 150 miles south of San Francisco, features spectacular views of the ocean and accommodations at high-end resorts. 

The slide along the highway linking Northern and Southern California has stymied visitors and hurt businesses, including Ragged Point Inn and Resort, which saw business cut in half.

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The scenic stretch of Highway 1 in the popular tourist area reopened (left) to traffic more than a year after it was blocked off by a massive landslide (right)

The stretch of scenic highway was buried in up to 40 feet of stone and dirt after the mammoth landslide in May last year (pictured above)

Construction workers made good progress and officials decided to reopen it ahead of a ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled for Friday

Josh Collins, of Associated Traffic Safety, removes a Road Closed sign from the roadway as Highway 1 is reopened

'We are beside ourselves,' resort spokesman Rori Cosma said about the highway reopening. 

'We're extremely happy and desperate to hire people.'

Cosma said the parking lot was packed Wednesday with drivers circling for a spot. After more than a year of disappointing foreign tourists with news that the highway was closed, he said he was thrilled to tell visitors of the early reopening.

Highway 1 has been dogged by slides since late 2016 but the one that hit Mud Creek near Ragged Point in Big Sur in 2017 was monumental. Millions of tons of earth moved, displacing 75 acres of land.

The slide buried the highway perched on the slope of mountains rising dramatically from the Pacific Ocean.

The debris slid well out into the ocean, creating 15 acres of new coastline about 9 miles north of the Monterey-San Luis Obispo county line.

An RV drives along drive along the newly opened section of Highway 1 across the Mud Creek Slide on Wednesday

The first cars drive along the newly opened section of Highway 1 - more than a year after it was closed off

Highway 1 has been dogged by slides since late 2016 but the one that hit Mud Creek near Ragged Point in Big Sur in 2017 was monumental