Retaining wall repair set after mudslide
Marin County on Monday is set to begin repairing a retaining wall along Point San Pedro Road that was battered by a December landslide.
A westbound lane will be closed to traffic between Summit Avenue and Montecito Road, in unincorporated San Rafael, during the estimated 10-week construction project, officials said.
“All efforts will be made to minimize disturbance to the community and traffic flow,” the county’s public works department said in an announcement.
The work will take place between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and is expected to be completed by April 3, officials said.
Crews will clear mud and debris and replace about 90 feet of sidewalk. They will also rebuild roughly 90 feet of retaining wall, including a portion of the wall that collapsed in the landslide and an adjacent section that was damaged, according to the public works department. The estimated cost of the project is $600,000.
“Due to industry changes in materials since the wall was built in 1968, the look of the new section will deviate from the original aesthetic,” the department said, noting that it “intends to match the original style as much as possible.”
A 45-foot-wide section of retaining wall collapsed on Dec. 3 during a rainstorm that unleashed a landslide on Point San
“Due to industry changes in materials since the wall was built in 1968, the look of the new section will deviate from the original aesthetic.”
— Marin County’s public works department, in a statement
Pedro Road. No homes were damaged in the slide, but debris spilled onto the street, triggering the closure of a westbound lane.
A construction crew stabilized the hillside after the slide and reinforced the retaining wall with barriers, officials said. The westbound lane was reopened, but the bike lane, shoulder and sidewalk have remained closed since the slide.
An inspection revealed that water had pooled in the soil above the retaining wall, which likely caused the slide, according to county senior engineer Rachel Calvert.
“As we remove the wall and the dirt and investigate a little bit further, hopefully we’ll get more information,” she said.