For immediate release: June 1, 2026
Contact: Rachel Gordon, San Francisco Public Works, rachel.gordon@sfdpw.org
ANNUAL OCEAN BEACH SAND RELOCATION PROJECT STARTS TUESDAY, JUNE 2
The operation aims to reduce recurring sand buildup on the Great Highway
San Francisco – Starting Tuesday, June 2, San Francisco Public Works will begin its annual sand maintenance activities at Ocean Beach. City crews will redistribute approximately 24,000 pounds of sand over the next two weeks. The aim is to decrease the likelihood of sand buildup on the adjacent Great Highway – now an oceanside park known as Sunset Dunes – during windy weather.
Public Works Operations staff will use front-end loaders, backhoes and other heavy machinery to reduce the height and width of the sand dunes and move sand away from the roadway and toward the ocean – efforts that have been shown in past years to delay the natural progression of sand encroachment onto the Great Highway.
Crews will be on the job weekdays, Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. The work will focus on the stretch of beach between Noriega Street and Santiago Street. The sand buildup near Judah Street then will be addressed if time permits.
Considered an active construction site, people and their pets should keep at least 50 feet from the heavy machinery as a safety precaution.
Public Works has a small window to perform the annual sand redistribution work; it must be timed to make sure crews do not disturb the Western Snowy 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 or early summer to nest in other coastal areas and inland salt flats. Monitors with the federal 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 parklands.
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