The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Devil's Slide tunnels - which will replace a segment of Highway 1 that snakes alongside the Pacific Ocean near Half Moon Bay - will not open by year's end as previously predicted.
Caltrans spokesman Bob Haus says the twin 4,200-foot tunnels are finished except for some of the operating systems, so the opening date was pushed back to early 2013.
Devil's Slide is so named because of the massive boulders sometimes fall from nearby cliffs onto the roadway during storms.
Excavation began in 2007 and has cost an estimated $439 million, more than $100 million more than originally forecast.
