Surfer's Beach Shoreline Reinforcement
Surfer's Beach Shoreline Reinforcement
Project Summary
Alongside San Mateo County Supervisor District 3 staff, I helped scope, budget, and procure qualified engineering services to find feasible, environmentally-responsible solutions to address progressive coastal erosion along California State Highway 1, which provides the lone north-south access for numerous unincorporated coastal communities in the San Mateo County Midcoast region.
Additional historical and project conext, per the San Mateo County Harbor District:
"Since construction of the Pillar Point Harbor (PPH) breakwater in 1961 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Surfer’s Beach… experienced a significant amount of beach and bluff erosion, leading to… permanent loss of sandy intertidal beach area and bluff-top coastal scrub and grassland, as well as an increased exposure of Highway 1 to erosion and flood hazards during coastal storms. While the shore at Surfer’s Beach eroded, significant accretion and deposition of sediment inside PPH has resulted in impacts on navigation and use of the boat launch ramp. The erosion at Surfers Beach and the impacts of sand shoaling inside the harbor generated significant interest and concern of local community members. In addition to general beach recreation, Surfers Beach is a very popular surf spot for surfers of all levels of experience, and in particular beginners because of its sheltered location.
The rapid erosion of the beach and bluffs extending south of the harbor has been a source of concern over the past several decades. [An]… Army Corps of Engineers study concluded that the bluffs along Surfer’s Beach eroded at an average rate of 1.64 feet per year between 1993 and 2012. This erosion rate was determined to be approximately seven times higher than the rate of erosion at a geologically similar stretch of shoreline farther down the coast."
Project Summary
Alongside San Mateo County Supervisor District 3 staff, I helped scope, budget, and procure qualified engineering services to find feasible, environmentally-responsible solutions to address progressive coastal erosion along California State Highway 1, which provides the lone north-south access for numerous unincorporated coastal communities in the San Mateo County Midcoast region.
Additional historical and project conext, per the San Mateo County Harbor District:
"Since construction of the Pillar Point Harbor (PPH) breakwater in 1961 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Surfer’s Beach… experienced a significant amount of beach and bluff erosion, leading to… permanent loss of sandy intertidal beach area and bluff-top coastal scrub and grassland, as well as an increased exposure of Highway 1 to erosion and flood hazards during coastal storms. While the shore at Surfer’s Beach eroded, significant accretion and deposition of sediment inside PPH has resulted in impacts on navigation and use of the boat launch ramp. The erosion at Surfers Beach and the impacts of sand shoaling inside the harbor generated significant interest and concern of local community members. In addition to general beach recreation, Surfers Beach is a very popular surf spot for surfers of all levels of experience, and in particular beginners because of its sheltered location.
The rapid erosion of the beach and bluffs extending south of the harbor has been a source of concern over the past several decades. [An]… Army Corps of Engineers study concluded that the bluffs along Surfer’s Beach eroded at an average rate of 1.64 feet per year between 1993 and 2012. This erosion rate was determined to be approximately seven times higher than the rate of erosion at a geologically similar stretch of shoreline farther down the coast."
Role
Lead planner & project manager
Role
Lead planner & project manager
Timeline
2014 - 2015
Timeline
2014 - 2015
Stakeholders
700,000+ County residents, businesses, & visitors
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
California Coastal Commission
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
County of San Mateo Board of Supervisors
Midcoast Community Council
San Mateo County Harbor District
Stakeholders
700,000+ County residents, businesses, & visitors
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
California Coastal Commission
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
County of San Mateo Board of Supervisors
Midcoast Community Council
San Mateo County Harbor District
Project Value
$180,000 engineering consulting services contract
Project Value
$180,000 engineering consulting services contract
WRECO (HDR)
WRECO (HDR)
WRECO (HDR)
Key Outcomes & Insights
Remote collaboration can be efficient for projects that require intensive field review and implementation - but in-person meetings remain the most effective.
Remote collaboration can be efficient for projects that require intensive field review and implementation - but in-person meetings remain the most effective.
Remote collaboration can be efficient for projects that require intensive field review and implementation - but in-person meetings remain the most effective.
This is not to say in-person meetings should necessarily replace, nor even become the most chosen collaboration method. However, as human-planned, design, and exectued projects go, direct human interactions continue to provide the most complete opportunities to communicate critical project elements effectively.
Project management-wise, the critical path is doubly important for complex projects in federally-sensitive environmental areas.
Project management-wise, the critical path is doubly important for complex projects in federally-sensitive environmental areas.
This project necessarily included over a half-dozen stakeholders, including multiple authorizing state and federal agencies, each with unique procedural requirements and timelines. As a result, mapping and monitoring the critical path - aka, the longest path with connected tasks - was crucial to articulating and maintaining project progress with minimal disruptions.
Web Resources
Project Summary by SMC Harbor District
County of San Mateo