Emergency bluff repairs next to the Ladera Street stairs in Sunset Cliffs is finished.
Work was done quickly – and under budget.
“The emergency cliff stabilization work at Ladera Street has been completed,” said Alec Phillipp, City public information officer. “The construction work took less than one week.”
Added Phillipp, “[The City] estimates that the construction cost will be less than our initial $1.5 million estimate.”
Phillipp said the repair project was triggered when portions of the bluff collapsed onto the stairs below in February. Cliff reconstruction work was focused on mitigating the geologic hazard adjacent to the stairs to increase public safety and ensure beach access by emergency personnel.
“A geotechnical consultant was on site throughout the project to ensure that the stability of the bluff wasn’t further compromised by our work,” said Phillipp, adding, “The contractor will be paid for the time and materials used to complete the work.”
On Aug. 6, the City Council allocated $1.8 million in Regional Park Improvement Funds for the Ladera Street Beach Access Stairway Emergency Project. That stairway had been closed and chained-off since a Feb. 13 cliff landslide impaired beach access below.
The City’s decision to declare the project an “emergency,” which fast-tracked repairs, didn’t sit well initially with some nearby Sunset Cliffs neighbors who felt the community had been “left out” of the decision making loop. Some argued the project should have been required to have a full-blown environmental impact report done prior to construction.
But at least some detractors were won over by the City’s effective implementation of the project.
“The Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Council is pleased that the project was down sized and impressed by the careful, professional work on this sensitive project,” said council spokesperson Ann Swanson.
“Overall we are delighted with the response of the Coastal Commission that ensured that an environmentally sound minimal project was completed,” said Sunset Cliffs neighbor Dedi Ridenour.
