Paseo Del Mar Permanent Restoration Project (E1907791)

The City of Los Angeles (City) Department of Public Works, Bureau of Engineering (BOE) is proposing to restore access along the portion of the Paseo Del Mar right-of-way (ROW) that was damaged by the November 2011 White Point Landslide event.

The project site includes a landslide area located along a portion of the Paseo Del Mar roadway in the San Pedro Community of the City of Los Angeles. Paseo Del Mar provides east-west access to residents in the southernmost area of the San Pedro Community. Paseo Del Mar is bound by the White Point Nature Preserve to the north and property owned by the County of Los Angeles Department of Beaches and Harbors, and the Pacific Ocean to the south. To the east is Weymouth Avenue and to the west is White Point-Royal Palms County Beach Park.

The 400-foot section of the Paseo Del Mar roadway that collapsed is approximately 120 feet above sea level along a steep bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. A large block of the bluff containing the roadway moved approximately 60 feet toward the ocean and left a large depression, or “graben”, approximately 500 feet long by 60 feet wide by 40 feet deep where the roadway used to exist. The City of Los Angeles initiated studies, cleanup, and stabilization of the eastern adjacent slope and introduced a street turn-around at the eastern end to close the road until a permanent solution was determined. The western end has been fenced off.

BOE is considering three build alternatives for the permanent restoration of the collapsed portion of the Paseo Del Mar roadway. Additionally, an analysis of the No Project Alternative is included in the EIR pursuant to Section 15126.6(e) of the CEQA Guidelines. The four alternatives analyzed in the EIR include the following:

No Project Alternative: Under the No Project Alternative, the portion of the roadway damaged by the 2011 landslide event would not be restored and this segment of Paseo Del Mar would remain inaccessible to the public. The emergency measures that were implemented following the landslide event would remain in place. The additional stabilization measures in the existing landslide area described for the build alternatives would not occur under this alternative. 

Alternative 1 – Bridge Spanning over Landslide: Alternative 1 would seek to limit major earthwork and remediation of the existing landslide area by constructing a single long-span bridge supported on stable ground outside the limits of the landslide area. The bridge would span approximately 400 feet. A standard barrier and railing would be installed on the edges of the bridge. The proposed project would also include the possibility of a sidewalk, up to 5 feet wide on the northside of the roadway, in addition to the sidewalk up to 15 feet wide on the south side of the roadway. The construction of this alternative would last for approximately 15 months.

Alternative 2 – Anchored CIDH Piles with Buttress: Alternative 2 would include a single row of large diameter, Cast-in-Drilled Holes (CIDH) piles near the edge of the existing slope. After partial removal of the landslide debris to an approximate elevation of 75 feet above the beach, the piles would be drilled and installed to below the basal shear interface layer. The piles would be connected with a reinforced concrete grade beam and tied back with soil anchors. A reinforced-earth buttress located above the piles would stabilize the head scarp and support the new roadway. A barrier and railing would also be required adjacent to the sidewalk similar to Alternative 1. Additionally, rock armor (riprap) protection up to an elevation of 25 feet above the mean high tide mark would be required under this alternative to protect the slope from recession due to wave action and other erosive forces. The construction of this alternative would last for approximately 22 months. 

Alternative 3 – Shear Pins with MSE Wall: Alternative 3 would be similar to Alternative 2; however, rather than being located at the face of the existing slope, a row of large diameter piles and a grid of smaller diameter piles would be constructed below the proposed roadway. The piles would handle the vertical loading of the Mechanically Stabilized Embankment (MSE) wall and mitigate lateral forces on the existing slope. The MSE-type wall utilizes a reinforcement strap tied to a segment of wall panel. The self-weight and friction of the compacted earth would keep the face of the panels in place. A barrier and railing adjacent to the sidewalk would be required, similar to Alternatives 1 and 2. Similar to Alternative 2, riprap protection up to an elevation of 15 feet above the mean high tide mark would be required under Alternative 3 to protect the slope from recession due to wave action and other erosive forces. The construction of this alternative would last for approximately 19 months.

SUMMARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS:

No impacts to agricultural resources, mineral resources, population and housing, or public services would occur as a result of the proposed project alternatives. Additionally, the EIR identifies no impacts under the No Project Alternative to air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, greenhouse gas emissions, noise, paleontological resources, recreation, and tribal cultural resources. Aesthetics impacts under Alternative 1 would be less than significant. Impacts to air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, hydrology and water quality, hazards and hazardous materials, land use and planning, recreation, and utilities and service systems would be less than significant under Alternatives 1, 2, and 3. Additionally, impacts to transportation and traffic would be less than significant under all four alternatives. Impacts to biological resources, cultural resources, geology and soils, paleontological resources, and tribal cultural resources would be reduced to a less than significant level with implementation of mitigation measures under Alternatives 1, 2, and 3. Significant and unavoidable impacts would occur for the following: aesthetics under the No Project Alternative and Alternatives 2 and 3; geology and soils, hydrology and water quality, and land use and planning under the No Project Alternative; and construction noise under Alternatives 1, 2, and 3.

A public hearing was held on Wednesday, May 3, 2017 at The Plaza at Cabrillo Marina, Cabrillo Marina Community Room, 2865 Via Cabrillo Marina, San Pedro, CA 90731.  BOE is anticipating the Final EIR to be considered for approval in September 2019.  This project falls within the dual coastal jurisdiction zone; preparation of both a local and state coastal development permit will follow soon after the release of the Final EIR and project adoption by City Council.

Please check the Board of Public Works calendar for upcoming meetings related to this project.  They can be accessed here: https://dpw.lacity.org/meeting-calendar.