For Immediate Release 

January 7, 2010

Contact: 

Department of Public Works 415-554-6931

Golden Gate National Recreation Area 415-561-4732

PORTION OF GREAT HIGHWAY REALIGNED TO CONTINUE CLIFF STABILIZATION

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The Department of Public Works (DPW) temporarily realigned lanes of the southbound Great Highway south of Sloat Boulevard near Lake Merced Boulevard to allow city and federal crews to continue stabilizing a coastal bluff there. Regular seasonal storm activity has caused anticipated erosion and the agencies took action to ensure public safety, protect the roadway and to maintain access to Ocean Beach.

DPW realigned the roadway into one southbound lane on the Great Highway south of Sloat Boulevard and is investigating whether a side road created in 2003 to be used as a second lane will be needed. DPW and the National Park Service (NPS) are continuing to address the erosion just south of Sloat Boulevard, along a 650-foot stretch of coastal bluff between the south parking lot and Fort Funston that has been problematic since the 1999 El Nino storms.

In 1999, to protect nearby infrastructure, the Board of Supervisors authorized the Department to annually maintain the shoreline by replenishing the sand that washed away. Work over the next several months will include expanding the area of replenishment and exploring bluff and roadway stabilization with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

DPW is working with the NPS and the Army Corp of Engineers (COE) on a long-range plan to appropriately respond to the continuing beach erosion impacts at Ocean Beach. The COE and DPW are acting on shoreline stabilization studies and technical reports that have been produced over the last several years to stabilize the beach and protect the road. The City, NPS and the COE are evaluating using sand from several nearby sources, including Ocean Beach and the San Francisco Ship Channel, to provide protection from large winter storms.

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