It is the most scenic highway in America, but a big chunk of California's Highway 1 has fallen into the sea after a landslide.

Stunned drivers watched as a forty-foot section tumbled into the Pacific below after several days of rain.

The landslide, at 5pm on Wednesday, happened 12 miles from Carmel. A two-mile stretch is now closed for repairs which are expected to take several days.

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© Associated PressNo through road: A 40ft section of California's Highway 1 fell into the Pacific after a landslide.

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© Associated PressClosed: Engineers and safety officials inspect the damage. The highway is expected to be shut for several days.
Despite being new asphalt, all of the southbound lane is now gone, and the soil under the northbound lane also is giving way.

The California Highway Patrol closed the lane at Palo Colorado Road and drivers going north were stopped at the Bixby Creek Bridge.

Fortunately, no one was injured in the slide. A CHP dispatcher said: 'Nobody went down, no people got hurt.'

State transportation workers are now scrambling to make repairs. It's not immediately clear what caused the slide or how long the highway will be closed.

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© Associated PressScenic: The Pacific crashes into the cliffs below the highway, the most scenic in America.
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© NECN.comRocky road: No one was hurt when a section of the Californian highway collapsed on Wednesday.