Dangerous Sink Hole Appears in San Pedro

A dangerous sink hole and other evidence of earth movement, possibly portending a larger landslide to come, has appeared along Paseo del Mar in San Pedro. The following are excerpts from a Daily Breeze article published today authored by Donna Littlejohn:

As work crews continued to investigate a sinkhole beneath Paseo del Mar in San Pedro, it appeared there would be no quick or easy fix in the cliffside neighborhood known for land movement. Engineers this week are busy making plans to relocate power poles – “in case something more drastic would occur,” said Lawrence Cuaresma, district engineer with the city of Los Angeles Public Works Department.

Meanwhile, a 900-foot-long stretch of Paseo del Mar – between Weymouth Avenue to just east of Western Avenue – will remain closed indefinitely, he said. The street was blocked on Sept. 19 after engineers determined that a sinkhole had developed beneath a bowl-like depression in the road that had been slowly developing since early July. Since then, crews have discovered cracks also in the land at the White Point Nature Preserve that is bordered by Paseo del Mar.

A long crack is visible crossing Paseo del Mar and into the White Point Nature Preserve in San Pedro. Signs are up warning of a landslide potential. (Chuck Bennett / Staff Photographer)

This is not the first time for land movement in the area. In December 2009, a chunk of earth fell away from the cliff in a “minislide” in the 1800 block of West Paseo del Mar, very close to the current problem spot. And in July 2010, a chunk of the Sunken City cliff area in San Pedro – about two miles to the east of the current sinkhole – collapsed into the ocean. Sunken City was once home to a 6-acre community owned by Harbor Area developer George Peck. In 1929, the community began sliding into the ocean south of Pacific Avenue and Shepard Street,

Crews from The Gas Company work along the closed section of Paseo del Mar in San Pedro Tuesday morning. (Chuck Bennett / Staff Photographer)

It is unclear how how long the road will remain closed, Cuaresma said. Emergency vehicles can still enter from the west side closest to Western Avenue.

“At this point we’re calling it an indefinite closure,” he said. “We’re trying to get a handle on what the situation is.”