More PCH Lane Closures Underway Due To Massive Crack Beneath Highway

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — Motorists traveling Pacific Coast Highway, be advised: Big highway closures are coming to South Orange County.

Travelers could see full southbound lane closures on the highway between Reef Point Drive and Irvine Cove Drive as early as Tuesday, Oct. 20.

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According to the City of Laguna Beach, Caltrans plans to shift traffic in both directions to the two northbound lanes, limiting traffic in either direction to one lane.

It was not immediately clear how long this closure would last.

The cliffside fracture was originally spotted Monday, Oct. 12, in the bluff below the iconic highway near El Morro, just north of Laguna Beach, after weeks of heavy surf, high tides and hurricane-driven swells tore into the already battered coastline.

Video of the forming crack was published by SkidKids, a YouTube channel that documents surfing culture and beaches far and wide.

Over the past week, Caltrans cruise have been battling steep terrain and high tides to install plastic tarps along the length of the crack.

Laguna Beach local Blair Conklin, who originally captured footage of the growing damage in a YouTube video, posted to social media this weekend to give the public an update on the crack.

"We had Caltrans putting a bunch of plastic tarps to prepare for the rain coming," Conklin said in his video. "I think that's the only thing that the tarp is probably going to be good for."

Conklin noted that it didn't appear the tarp would protect the fractured hillside from the forecasted rain.

Laguna Beach City Manager Dave Kiff took to social media earlier this week to update residents about what steps Caltrans will take to rectify the cracked hillside.

"Caltrans has their best people on it, I'm convinced of that," Kiff said. "I've been talking directly with the district director here in Orange County who talks directly with her supervisors in Sacramento. This has gotten the attention of the whole Caltrans organization to make sure that the road is safe."

According to Kiff, the three-stage plan to buttress the slope includes: applying plastic tarp to the hillside, installing large boulders or rip-rap at the base and working on how to best re-design the slope for long-term retention.