For decades, El Morro in Orange County’s Crystal Cove State Park was famous for its iconic, sacred trailer park right on the sand. Today, it is making headlines for a different reason: a brand-new, $4 million beach formed entirely by emergency construction.
Following a brutal pounding from El Niño-powered storms, a huge Kelvin wave, and record high tides, the coastal carnage left the cliffs beneath the Pacific Coast Highway crumbling. In a race to save the iconic roadway, Caltrans initiated a massive stabilization project.
Their plan involved deploying hundreds of massive trap bags to create an eight-foot buffer wall, and backfilling the area with thousands of tons of sand. And local skimboarder and surfer, Blair Conklin has been documenting the progress. See the latest:
The astonishing byproduct of this heavy machinery and engineering is a sprawling new sandy beach. Conklin recently showcased the coastal transformation on YouTube, marveling at the crystal-clear water—a stark contrast to the muddy runoff that plagued the lineup during peak erosion.
“The $4Million dollar project to stabilize Pacific Coast Highway appears to be working,” Conklin noted while surveying the massive tractors working on the new sand buffer. “After hundreds of Trap Bags and 1000s of tons of sand, it looks like the erosion is under control.”
The trap bags are successfully absorbing the kinetic energy of the crashing waves, creating a wide shoreline where ocean energy previously gnawed directly at the vulnerable dirt cliff.
However, the ultimate test for this newly manufactured beach is rapidly approaching. With winter officially kicking off in the Northern Hemisphere, the El Niño climate pattern is not stopping.
What’s more, another round of massive King Tides is slated to arrive around Thanksgiving, threatening to drag the newly deposited sand right back into the Pacific.
Will this $4 million beach transform entirely, or will the trap bags hold the line?
The beloved stretch of coastline is transforming right before our eyes, serving as a historic test case for California’s battle against rising sea levels.
At El Morro, the ocean gets the final say. Stay tuned as “Super” El Niño season continues.
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