Annual Great Highway Sand Relocation Project Starts Monday

For immediate release: June 12, 2015

Contact: Rachel Gordon, 415-554-6045

San Francisco, CA – Starting Monday, June 15, 2015, San Francisco Public Works will begin annual sand maintenance activities along the Great Highway.

Crews will redistribute approximately 5,550 cubic yards of sand during the two-week project, moving it from the side of the roadway toward the ocean. The aim is to reduce the likelihood of sand buildup on the Great Highway during windy weather.

Southbound Great Highway, between Lincoln Way and Sloat Boulevard, will be closed to traffic starting Monday for up to five days while crews work in the area. Motorists will need to find alternate routes.

In addition to the removal of sand at the seawall between Noriega Street and Santiago Street, the project will address the sand accumulation at Judah Street and Lawton Street. Sand will be removed by an excavator and deposited along the embankment of a parking lot south of Sloat Boulevard and onto the beach.

Public Works has a small window to perform the annual work; it must be timed to make sure crews do not disturb the Snowy Western Plover, a small shorebird that is protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The plovers can be found at Ocean Beach about 10 months out of the year, but take off in the spring to nest in other coastal areas and inland salt flats. Monitors with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) have confirmed that the plovers have left Ocean Beach and that it is safe to begin relocating the sand. 

The work is being done in coordination with the GGNRA and under a special-use permit for activities that occur on federal park lands.

Public Works has hired Yerba Buena Engineering & Construction, Inc. to perform this work.