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Public Safety

City Closes Streets Near La Jolla Cove For Emergency Work To Reinforce Unstable Cliff

The city of San Diego closed a stretch of Coast Boulevard and Cave Street on Friday, Aug. 9, 2019, to shore up a sea cave that was in danger of collapsing.
Andi Dukleth
The city of San Diego closed a stretch of Coast Boulevard and Cave Street on Friday, Aug. 9, 2019, to shore up a sea cave that was in danger of collapsing.

City emergency officials shut down sections of road along a cliff in La Jolla late Thursday out of fear that it might collapse.

Parts of Coast Boulevard and Cave Street will be closed for up to six weeks while crews work to stabilize the area. City officials said geologists found spots of weakness in the sea cave called Cook’s Crack located underneath Coast Boulevard.

“Had we not taken precaution, if you wait long enough or if you have a seismic event, it’s possible that this street could have given way,” the city’s Transportation & Storm Water Department director Kris McFadden said. “We see this as a proactive step to make sure that actually never happens.”

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The efforts will include using concrete to reinforce the top of the cave, McFadden said. He added if everything goes according to plan, the reinforcement should hold for at least 50 years.

The city said it will make the area accessible to nearby residents and businesses while the work is being done.

Corrected: April 25, 2024 at 2:38 PM PDT
An earlier version of this story refers to the cave in question as Crook's Crack. KPBS regrets the error.
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