SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KGO) — After being closed for more than two years, an iconic stretch of Santa Cruz is open once again.
This is what West Cliff Drive looked like after the 2023 January storms; 120 feet of pathway was destroyed, and the road was eroded in several places.
Jamie Lamb lives directly across from West Cliff.
“So the bridge was knocked out by waves and that caused them to close West Cliff and then they put in a new seawall,” Lamb said.
We asked his thoughts on how well the infrastructure repairs will weather future extreme storms.
“I don’t know – I’d say 80% confident, not full confidence no,” Lamb said.
We spoke with Santa Cruz resident Al Ramadan – he’s one of the co-founders for a group that formed called “Save West Cliff.”
MORE: What is the timeline for repairs to the partially collapsed Santa Cruz Wharf?
He said with community input, the city approved a 50-year vision of West Cliff that focuses on creating long term climate resilient solutions.
“And sea-level rise, the increase in these bomb cyclones this is going to be coming more and more. And so the question I think many of us have is there a way to disarm these swells before they get to the cliff,” Ramadan said.
Ramadan mentioned one are being discussed.
“There’s a conversation about artificial reefs which is happening all over the east coast they put these barrier islands in or artificial reefs to stop the swell or the surge from the storms,” Ramadan said.
One of the most notable impacts of storm damage was when the end of the Santa Cruz Wharf collapsed into the ocean in December of 2024.
VIDEO: Storm damage: Here’s before-and-after look at hardest-hit areas in Capitola, Santa Cruz
One of the hardest-hit areas from the devastating bomb cyclone was the Santa Cruz County coastline. Here’s a before and after look at the region.
On Tuesday, the City Council approved $1.5 million for repairs.
ABC7 News spoke with Tony Elliot, director of Parks & Recreation.
“So the improvements that we are making will strengthen the wharf, it will make it climate resilient, it will continue to invest in, in many ways the original engineering that has served the wharf well for 110 years,” Elliot said.
Construction is set to begin in November so it can be completed by March of 2026.
“First of all, construction won’t impact public access. So the wharf will remain open during construction,” Elliot said.
Back at West Cliff, residents are happy to see it back open.
On Friday, the city is hosting a ribbon cutting to celebrate the completion of the project.
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