$4M allocated to fix 360-foot crack threatening Pacific Coast Highway

Orange County officials have approved millions of dollars in emergency funding to fix a 360-foot crack in the bluffs of one of California’s historic coastal zones.

Read more Arrest made after California DoorDash driver found dead in Tesla trunk

On Monday, Laguna Beach City Manager Dave Kiff took to social media to announce Caltrans’ three-phase plan to fix a long coastal crack that had developed alongside a key stretch of Pacific Coast Highway. Officials first noticed the large fracture within the roadside coastal bluff in the Laguna Beach and Crystal Cove area earlier this month. The crack, which Caltrans estimates to be hundreds of feet long and 2 feet wide, was likely caused by a mix of environmental issues, including an extraordinary El Niño weather system that’s raising ocean levels, an underwater Kelvin wave creating dangerous high surf and the last stormy remnants of Hurricane Rachel.

It is just the latest chapter in concerns about coastal erosion in Southern California. Recently, Malibu officials warned that the damage from the Palisades Fire has made its area of Highway 1 more susceptible to coastal erosion. Oceanside has also been working to save its shrinking beach, which is constantly losing sand.

“This has brought the attention of the whole Caltrans organization to make sure that the road is safe,” Kiff said on Instagram.

The first phase of the rehabilitation plan involved placing a massive plastic tarp over a piece of crumbled bluff. Rain is expected to hit the area on Wednesday, and the tarp should help prevent runoff and rainwater from getting into the slope, Caltrans said in a news release. 

Caltrans announced that once the California Coastal Commission and California State Parks approve the second phase of slope stabilization, traffic on Pacific Coast Highway between Reef Point Drive and Irvine Cove Drive on the southbound side will be rerouted to the two lanes on the northbound side, which will be used for two-way traffic.

During Phase 2, the contractors will only be able to work during low tide to install a buttress at the bottom of the slope and fill it with rocks (also known as riprap) to slow the wave energy and erosion. Phase 3, however, is less certain. 

Read more After Orange County teen dies in e-moto crash, parents hit with child endangerment charges

“Caltrans is working closely with California State Parks to develop a long-term stabilization approach to ensure roadway protection by drawing on geotechnical data and lessons learned from similar emergency repairs,” Caltrans said in a news release.

Caltrans spokesperson Christianne Smith told SFGATE that $4 million in emergency funding had been approved, but the project scope is still being determined.

“As project plans are still evolving, the full cost of the project has not yet been established,” Smith said.

California State Parks Orange Coast District Superintendent Scott Kibbey said in a news release on Thursday that several areas of Crystal Cove State Park remain closed. 

“The coastal damage at Crystal Cove, Doheny and San Onofre demonstrates the increasing challenges our coastal parks face from powerful ocean conditions,” Kibbey said. “Our immediate priority remains public safety, protecting our historic and natural resources, and restoring public access and essential services as quickly and safely as possible.”