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…