Del Norte LTC accepts South Beach Climate Resiliency Plan to begin coastal protection work

The Del Norte Local Transportation Commission on a unanimous vote accepted the South Beach Climate Resiliency Plan, a conceptual study aimed at reducing storm and sea-level rise impacts to Highway 101 and Anchor Way and preserving public access to South Beach.

The plan, prepared by consultant GHD and funded through a Caltrans climate adaptation grant, recommends a hybrid strategy: shift and elevate Highway 101 within the existing Caltrans right-of-way to roughly 20 feet above current grade in the most vulnerable sections, combine that elevation with a nature-based “living shoreline” (a vegetated sand berm backed by a cobble berm), and replace a problematic culvert with a bottomless culvert to improve drainage. For Anchor Way, the preferred approach includes repairing and raising existing groin and revetment structures, adding a concrete flood wall with a crest around 20 feet in critical locations, and raising the roadway and pedestrian…