As local residents will recall, the section of road between Pacifica and Montara where Highway 1 crossed Devil’s Slide had a long history of closure due to rockslides and land slippage. This section of the old Highway 1 is now the Devil’s Slide Trail (DST), a 1.3-mile multi-use trail that gives hikers, runners, bicyclists and equestrians access to the rocky heights of Devil’s Slide above the Pacific Ocean.
Photo Credit: Andrew Boone, Streetsblog SF
Unique, Win-Win Reuse Solution at the Headlands
Every year, rocks and debris fall from the steep Devil’s Slide bluffs onto the trail. At the same time, the PPH Restoration Project needed rock and debris to fill eroding gullies.
In a mutually beneficial arrangement, the construction contractor, Go Native, has collected DST debris and used it for the PPH Restoration. Rather than purchasing fill from an outside vendor and hauling it to the site, Go Native, in partnership with San Mateo County Parks, has collected fallen debris from the DST bluffs, cleared the storm drains, and stockpiled over 660 cubic yards of fill at the Pedro Point Headlands for reuse. A win for the land trust, which didn’t need to purchase fill or disturb onsite habitat to create fill, and a win for County Parks, who didn’t need spend County funds to clear the debris. An added perk is that the clean fill is from the same geologic formation, which is important to support native species.
The pictures below show the debris being collected along the Devil’s Slide trail and relocated to the Headlands, as well as a few shots of how the fill has been used to aid the restoration efforts:
