Giant crack in Santa Monica bluffs above PCH spurs emergency repairs
The huge fissure running down the bluffs above Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica is hard to miss and was likely caused by heavy rains that soaked Southern California earlier this year, according to city officials.
Months after the rain stopped, a portion of the bluffs appears to be in danger of crashing down onto the roadway below.
The city will close some lanes of the highway Tuesday night to remove 2,000 to 4,000 cubic feet of earth as crews break away the soil column that has detached from the bluffs, said Rick Valte, the director of the Santa Monica Public Works Department.
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Crews expect to use a giant crane with a clamshell attachment to break away the damaged portion of the cliffside and 10 to 15 dump trucks will haul away 200 to 300 tons of soil, Valte said.
“The heavy rains that occurred in December and January likely caused the development of the crack in the bluffs,” Valte said. The city is unsure whether the area is unstable or poses an immediate risk, but rather than risk the column falling onto Pacific Coast Highway, the project will break off the area from the base to the top of the column, according to Valte.
The problem area, which is near the Santa Monica Veterans Memorial and the Arizona Avenue Pedestrian Bridge over PCH, was identified by the city last month during a survey of all the bluffs in the area, Valte said.
Another, smaller portion of the bluffs farther north sloughed off in January due to the heavy rains, Valte said. After the city addressed it, a survey team assessed the bluffs in the city limits to see whether there were any other problem areas and the team identified the bluffs near the veterans memorial, according to Valte.
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Northbound lanes of PCH and the Moomat Ahiko Way on-ramp from Ocean Avenue will be closed starting at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. The westbound 10 Freeway through PCH at the California Incline will close at 2 a.m. Wednesday. All routes are scheduled to reopen by noon Wednesday, principal civil engineer Selim Eren said in a news release Monday. Detours will be in effect for the Wednesday morning commute around PCH, so travelers can expect some delays on Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards, Ocean Avenue and the California Incline, according to the city.
The problem was first reported by photographer and studio executive Suzanne Yankovic. She shared a video on Instagram showing a large gap separating a section of the bluff.
“I noticed this crack from the bluffs, seems precarious fyi,” she wrote in her post. Yankovic, who is married to musician and parodist “Weird Al” Yankovic, posted the video July 13.
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Yankovic and her friend, celebrity hairstylist Sean James, contacted Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath’s office for assistance, but they learned that the bluffs are in Santa Monica’s jurisdiction.
James tried to flag the issue on social media, but did not get an immediate response, and it was only after Horvath’s office was contacted that the city contacted him. He doesn’t know exactly how much his involvement spurred the city’s response, but he’s glad that something is being done.
“I love seeing things in action,” James said in an interview. “When I saw the crack, it was obvious that something was going to inevitably happen. This monolith was looming over PCH and I love that road. I drive through almost every day. But it’s also a dangerous road. If something is to roll down the hill, well, you really have nowhere to go.”
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