A column of soil has broken away from the bluffs near the Arizona footbridge along the Pacific Coast Highway and a section of the freeway will be closed through noon on Wednesday for emergency removal of the now dangerous section. While officials attribute the break to water damage caused by the unusually wet winter, the area is also home to a significant population of ground squirrels who have made burrows in the bluff and is a perennial site of homeless encampments, including several immediately adjacent to the now break-away column.
Road closures will be on Tuesday, July 25, beginning at 11:30 p.m. with the closure of Moomat Ahiko Way on-ramp to PCH between Ocean Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway. The off-ramp from PCH to Ocean Avenue will remain open. Closures will continue on Wednesday, July 26, beginning at 2 a.m. with the closure of westbound I-10 at Lincoln Boulevard through northbound Pacific Coast Highway to the California Incline. The Lincoln Boulevard offramp will remain open and the California Incline will remain open. The southbound PCH and Eastbound I-10 will remain open.
Photos by Todd James
