[Update 12/6/07] San Diego City Council approved $20 Million for the repair of Soledad Mountain Road despite concerns by some about whether funds diverted to pay for the fix will ever be repaid by Federal and State monies. Additionally, shear pin installation mentioned on the next page is scheduled to be completed by Saturday. [/Update]

A lot has happened since my last post on the Soledad Mountain Road landslide in La Jolla. I’ll try to get you caught up on the latest with remediation and legal issues. Click through for the summary.

Stabilization of the landslide began in late October when the City hired contractors to install shear pins within the right of way of Soledad Mountain Road. They are approximately 60 to 70-ft deep and 4-ft diameter reinforced concrete drilled shafts. There are reportedly 37 of them spaced at 7 to 8-ft. As of November 12, the estimate was that the pins would be installed by the end of November or Early December. No word on any remediation plans by private property owners.

Of course both the City and the experts hired by the residents both disagree on exactly what happened with the 8-in water main and tributary lines that ran underneath Soledad Mountain Road. The City claims the lines were broken by the slope movement (ie. The slope moved first). The resident’s experts claim that the utilities were leaking and that contributed to the landslide failure. Well, on November 28, San Diego city Engineers and Lawyers met with homeowner attorneys to discuss the removal of the damaged utility lines. It was agreed that city crews or contractors would remove the 8-in water pipe in 12-ft segments and leave the joints intact. The pieces would then be transported to a storage facility where they can be examined by experts from both sides. The work was expected to take about a week.

The latest news to come out of the failure is that they have been having heavy rains at the site for the past couple of days. They are busy trying to keep water out of the area using sandbags and water pumps. The failed area is also covered in plastic. Work has been suspended until things dry out.

Related Items:

• 105th Anniversary of Frank Landslide
• Allegations: Oregon Not Forthcoming With Landslide Hazard Information
• DBM Completes Landslide Repair in Oceanside
• Devil's Slide Tunnel Construction Kicks Off
• Geologic Hazard Photos

• Schnabel Foundation Company

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