Santa Monica officials will MOVE crumbling portion of cliff above Pacific Coast Highway after ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic’s wife spotted a crack and alerted authorities
- Engineers and geologists will stabilize and remove the issue area – which is 4,000 cubic feet of dirt that has been compounding for thousands of years
- Photographer and studio executive Suzanne Yankovic, 61, who is married to musician ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic, spotted the precarious rock and posted a video
Santa Monica officials will move a crumbling portion of a cliff above the Pacific Coast Highway after ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic’s wife spotted a crack and alerted authorities.
The city will close lanes of the iconic highway this week and make emergency repairs to the section of the cracking cliffside that is in danger of crashing down onto the roadway below.
Engineers and geologists will stabilize and remove the issue area – which is 4,000 cubic feet of dirt that has been compounding for thousands of years.
The giant crack is on the bluffs near Santa Monica Veterans Memorial and the Arizona Avenue Pedestrian Bridge.
The city will close lanes of the iconic highway this week and make emergency repairs to the section of the cracking cliffside (pictured) that is in danger of crashing down onto the roadway below
The issue was first brought to light by photographer and studio executive Suzanne Yankovic. She shared a video of the fault on Instagram, with the caption: ‘@cityofsantamonica I noticed this crack from the bluffs, seems precarious fyi’
It’s believed the fissure was caused in part by the historic storms which have been passing through Southern California this year.
The issue was first brought to light by photographer and studio executive Suzanne Yankovic, 61.
She shared a video of the fault on Instagram, with the caption: ‘@cityofsantamonica I noticed this crack from the bluffs, seems precarious fyi.’
She is married to ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic.
Yankovic was standing on a cliff, overlooking the highway and the coastline, when she zoomed into the crack and informed her followers.
The bluff that seemed to be cracking away from the rest was the closest to the highway – which vehicles pass through daily.
It’s believed the fissure was caused in part by the historic storms which have been passing through Southern California this year
The giant crack is on the bluffs near Santa Monica Veterans Memorial and the Arizona Avenue Pedestrian Bridge
Engineers and geologists will stabilize and remove the issue area – which is 4,000 cubic feet of dirt that has been compounding for thousands of years
Yankovic, with friend Sean James, then contacted the Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath – who moved the issue along.
James wrote following the news that the cliff would be sorted: ‘Thanks to her vigilance, we took action and contacted the city leaders, and I’m thrilled to announce that the danger is finally going to be removed!
‘Safety first, always! Big thanks to everyone involved in making our coastal road safer for everyone.’
Santa Monica Public Works director Rick Valte said: ‘We can’t really pinpoint whether that will break off in a year, in 10 years, in a month or tomorrow.
‘We’ve had an exceptionally wet winter season and we’ve noticed that quite a bit of the bluff has sloughed off during the very wet winter season.
‘If this column were to find separation from the rest of the bluffs it’s highly likely that much of it would fall onto PCH, and that could be a safety concern for passengers.’
