Dave and Karen Hall were out enjoying the beautiful morning at the beach on their bikes in San Clemente when their regular route was cut short.
A chain-linked fence and no trespassing sign stopped their jaunt to the pier Tuesday, Dec. 5. The bridge was closed because of a recent landslide from Mariposa Point to El Portal on the popular beach trail.
San Clemente Mayor Chris Duncan said it was a small landslide that prompted the closure late last week and the city hoped to reopen the bridge, but the hillslide continues to move.
Staff is monitoring the slope and the bridge was closed as a safety measure to ensure no one is injured by falling debris, he said.
There’s no estimate on reopening, but it will be open as soon as there is no movement and once it is determined there is no damage to the bridge, he said.
When the Halls come down to the path to walk their dog a few times a week, they said they use the trail because pets are not allowed on the beach. And, at high tide, there’s no beach left to walk along.
“This is just them being overly careful, which we understand,” Karen Hall said. “It’s still worth it to come down here, it’s still beautiful.”
There have been several landslides in the area in the past year-plus, including ones at the south end of the city that caused the rail line to be closed for months because of track damage and another earlier this year at the north end of town that caused apartment buildings to be red tagged. It was weeks before they were determined to be habitable again.
A few months later, a hillslide at the historic Casa Romantica prompted emergency repairs by the city and the Orange County Transportation Authority.
And this is not the first time the popular trail bridge has been closed. A large landslide in November 2019 caused the wooden structure to be closed for seven months, requiring extensive repair work.
The bridge along the 2.3-mile coastal walkway – created in 2007 from North Beach to San Clemente State Beach – was built because planners knew it was an area with erosion issues, the sand usually flowing down under the bridge during hillslides.
