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• Pismo Beach is on its way to constructing two seawalls in Shell Beach to protect the bluffs from further erosion.On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously approved a $2.2 million contract with Terra Costa Consulting and JC Baldwin for construction of the seawalls.Construction is proposed on Ocean Boulevard, where ongoing erosion has threatened the integrity of the bluffs between Cuyama and Wawona avenues, and farther north near the Vista del Mar sewage lift station.Officials blocked Ocean Boulevard between Capistrano and Wawona in late December to vehicles after a geotechnical engineer determined the area wasn't stable and posed an "immediate threat" to public safety.

• The bottom of an existing bin wall at that location also breached last month and had to be filled in with concrete to keep the road from collapsing onto the beach, said City Engineer Dwayne Chisam."Because of the emergency nature (on Ocean Boulevard), this was certainly not planned or budgeted," Chisam said.The section of roadway is expected to reopen to vehicles after a new seawall and additional sidewalk space is constructed at the site.If water and sewer lines under Ocean Boulevard were to break because the road collapses, at least 500 to 600 homes would be affected, as well as about 1,000-plus people.Staff has developed a financing plan, which also was approved by the council, that includes utilizing an $865,000 grant from the state Boating and Waterways commission, as well as using extra reserve funds and deferring monies to already approved projects.

• "Those monies are available for the city to utilize," Chisam said about the Boating and Waterways grant.Chisam said as soon as a contract with the state is signed and approved by the council for the grant funds, construction of the seawalls could begin within six to eight weeks.The city has issued emergency coastal-development permits to begin the proposed bluff-stabilization projects in Shell Beach, including work to repair unstable areas near the Vista del Mar sewer lift station.That project would include construction of a 144-foot long, 30-foot wide, tie-back seawall that would stabilize the face of the bluff and protect the public stairway at the end of Vista del Mar leading to the beach.

• "It's the smallest footprint possible to protect the public improvements," Chisam said, adding the Vista del Mar lift station, which services most of Shell Beach, also will be protected with the wall's construction.Staff expects the two seawalls to provide at least 50 years worth of erosion protection for the bluffs.The city hired JC Baldwin to construct a similar seawall that was erected in late 2009 near the Shore Cliff Tennis Courts on Price Street, where erosion had cause the bluffs to become dangerously close to the sidewalk's edge."If anyone is concerned with their quality of work, go look at Price Street," said Mayor Shelly Higginbotham. "They did a nifty job. It's so natural (looking) ... and seems to be doing what we wanted."

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