Black’s Beach road closed for repair

Storms, high tides, high surf, and winter swells damaged the emergency access road to Black’s Beach, causing UC San Diego to close the road for repair until March 6. The damage occurred sometime between the major storm that brought a tornado warning on January 6 and February 12, when UC San Diego was notified.

“Approximately 100 linear feet of the lower part of the access road where it transitions to the beach was completely eroded away,” said senior civil engineer Ross Kunishige.

This created a potentially dangerous situation for beachgoers, as the paved road provides beach access for lifeguard vehicles. “The alternative would be to be flown out by helicopter,” Kunishige said.

Repairs restored the rip-rap, a revetment of compacted mixed rock and concrete used especially for areas where there is erosion, on the most westerly portion of the road.