Record High Water Widens the PCH Bluff Crack at Crystal Cove

A crack in the bluff that holds up Pacific Coast Highway at El Morro, beside Crystal Cove State Park between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach, measures as much as 360 feet long and two feet wide, Caltrans says, according to Surfer. Caltrans closed the southbound right lane between Reef Point Drive and Irvine Cove Drive in mid-October and later added more partial closures as it moved to the second phase of emergency stabilization, Fox 11 reports. The closures stay in place until repairs are complete.

Caltrans has secured $4 million in initial emergency funding for a three-phase project that includes protecting the slope from wave erosion before winter storms, with a long-term fix to follow. The pressure from the ocean has been unusual: NOAA says El Niño-related ocean waves helped push water levels at gauges in Los Angeles, San Diego Bay, Santa Barbara and La Jolla to all-time records in late October, Surfer reports. On October 27, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered a Highway 1 task force to prepare vulnerable stretches of the coast highway for winter.

Expect slower traffic through the area, and stay off the bluff edge and away from the base of the slope on the beach below. Check QuickMap.dot.ca.gov for current lane closures.