Sea Level Rise Prompts Closure of San Francisco’s Great Highway

Part of San Francisco’s Great Highway will be permanently closed to cars due to threats from sea level rise, reports Ricardo Cano in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Cano notes that the city has foreseen the closure of the roadway between Sloat and Skyline boulevards since 2012. “The city has used stopgaps, such as a giant sand berm, in recent years to stabilize its rapidly deteriorating shoreline. But the highway, along with underground infrastructure and a major wastewater treatment plant are at risk of being overtaken by the rising sea.”

The segment in question is frequently closed due to sand blocking the road. “The city’s Public Utilities Commission and Recreation and Park departments plan to build a mile-long trail and beachfront plaza in place of the closed roadway.”

The proposed pedestrian plaza would include a public restroom, bollards for protection from vehicles, and a multiuse trail. “The new plaza and trail on the Great Highway Extension could eventually become part of a fully pedestrianized waterfront park that connects to the existing Great Highway between Sloat and Lincoln Way.”