LA Street Slips Into The Pacific

Heavy rains Sunday afternoon exacerbated a subsiding roadway in the L.A. suburb of San Pedro, leaving gaping holes and exposing plumbing and other infrastructure housed beneath the street.

1 minute read

November 21, 2011, 2:00 PM PST

By George Haugh


Although no houses are presently at risk, the city has construction crews working seven day weeks to re route an at risk storm drain and the area has been closed to the public.

"The asphalt itself is a wreck of jagged pieces that sink into an abrupt depression about 6-feet deep, swallowing up fence posts and revealing a twist of underground pipes and tree roots. Last Monday, segments of concrete storm drain pipe were lapped by the surf after plunging to the base of the bluff. A retaining wall that once helped support the road had split open."

This is not the first time San Pedro has dealt with major landslides. The nearby 'Sunken City,' a two block neighborhood subsiding down a cliff was immortalized as the setting for the eulogy scene that ends 'The Big Lebowski.'

Monday, November 21, 2011 in Los Angeles Times

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