Workers are scrambling to prevent the collapse of a roadway along California’s iconic Pacific Coast Highway. The efforts are the result of a large fissure that opened up on a cliffside near the roadway in Laguna Beach, in the wake of Tropical Storm Rachel.
YouTuber and skimboarder Blair Conklin has been documenting the issue since its onset. He began sounding the alarm a week ago, when he posted a video with drone footage of the crack. At the time, Caltrans had already closed part of the road so workers could inspect the fissure.
In an update posted to Facebook, the City of Laguna Beach wrote that, as soon as Tuesday, Caltrans will close both southbound lanes of PCH between Reef Point Drive and Irvine Cove Drive. Instead, traffic will shift to the two northbound lanes, one lane each way. Over the weekend, contractors placed plastic sheeting over the crack to keep rainwater out of the slope ahead of forecasted rain. The next phase, pending authorization, will be to add a fill buttress at the base of the slope, armored with large rocks.
In another update to YouTube, Conklin provided a closer view of the repair efforts. In addition to noting that the upcoming rains could prolong the repair, he remarked on the logistical difficulties city workers faced on the project.
“Waves were still washing up to the bottom of the cliff and Caltrans workers were still getting wet,” he explained. ‘We watched one sandbag they were dropping down from PCH loosen a rock on the cliff — it looked like it hit a dude’s hand. So, that’s a pretty challenging job to be working right now. You’re getting wet and risking getting hit by rocks that are falling down the cliff.’
As Conklin sees it, the coming days may determine whether the job is done in a few days or a few months, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
