Photo courtesy of the Del Norte Local Transportation Commission
Transportation officials are holding the second of two public meetings today to come up with a plan that ensures U.S. 101 and Anchor Way continue to function in the face of rising sea level and extreme weather associated with climate change.
These meetings are part of a joint effort between the Crescent City Harbor District, Elk Valley Rancheria and the Del Norte Local Transportation Commission to create a South Beach Climate Resilience Plan.
Caltrans District 1, Del Norte County, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife as well as consultants GHD and GreenDOT are also participating in the project, DNLTC Executive Director Tamera Leighton said.
Caltrans is expected to take over the project on June 30, 2025, when the planning phase is completed, Leighton said. Today’s meeting, which will be held from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Elk Valley Rancheria, will give people the opportunity to learn more about why a resiliency project is necessary and will enable them to provide input, she said.
The first meeting was held at the Crescent City Harbor District Office on Nov. 12.
“A big part of Elk Valley Rancheria’s concerns is when U.S. 101 closes and the [traffic] diversion is to Elk Valley Road,” Leighton told Redwood Voice Community News on Monday.
The average annual daily traffic load for U.S. 101 is between 6,000 and 7,000 vehicles depending on the time of year, Leighton noted. When storm-driven waves and high tides engulf the highway, Caltrans is forced to close it down and motorists use Elk Valley Road as a detour, she said.
“Elk Valley Road is not designed for that average annual daily traffic,” she said. “It turns Elk Valley Road, which is a sketchy road with no shoulders and blind curves and blind hills and lots of driveways, into a dangerous road because suddenly it has so many cars on it.”
While today’s meeting will be held at Elk Valley Rancheria, Leighton said it’s for all residents living in that area, tribal and non-tribal.
Winter storms, especially when combined with high tides, regularly send waves and debris over the highway near South Beach, as well as Anchor Way at the Crescent City Harbor.
According to Interim Harbormaster Mike Rademaker, recent storms have impacted the South Beach area. The most significant damage has been to the Whaler Island groin, which serves to protect beach erosion by interrupting the natural flow of sediment along the shoreline.
“Approximately one-third of the way from the landward terminus (groin anchor point), a section of the groin has been eroding more rapidly,” he said via text message Monday. “This erosion has caused the groin crest (the top of the groin) to lower at this weak point, allowing water to crest over the structure more easily and accelerate the displacement of structural boulders in that area.”
Rademaker said there’s also been a significant amount of tree debris washing ashore following the storms. He said these likely originate from the Klamath River and its tributaries.
Winter storms have also contributed to erosion along South Beach, according to a slide show presentation from the Del Norte Local Transportation Commission.
According to the slide show presentation, which will be shown at today’s meeting, flooding is expected to encompass U.S. 101 and extend into low-lying channels within the wildlife area to the east of the highway by 2075.
By 2100, flooding is expected to encompass all of U.S. 101 and will likely persist for “an extended period of time” within the wildlife area, also known as the Crescent City Marsh.
“There are lots of concerns about the health of the wetlands there that we are absolutely committed to working with,” Leighton said.
The slide show presentation also shows that by 2050, the middle section of Anchor Way will likely be exposed to flooding. By 2075, the entirety of Anchor Way will be exposed to flooding. By 2100, that flooding exposure will include most of Citizens Dock.
Today’s public meeting on the South Beach Resilience Project will be held from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Elk Valley Rancheria, 2332 Howland Hill Road in Crescent City. For more information about the project and to participate in a survey, click here.
