City crews break-up 3-by-5 foot boulder, haul away
By Andrea Papagianis
For the second time this month, a boulder has fallen from the bluffs along Coast Highway between Dana Point and San Clemente, causing a lane closure and slight delays, officials said.
Authorities received notice of a traffic hazard at 11 a.m. in the northbound traffic lanes, where a 3-foot by 5-foot boulder had landed, Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Lt. Jeff Hallock confirmed.
Hallock said the city of Dana Point responded to the slide and cleared the boulder.
On Jan. 10, an apparent rockslide closed Coast Highway in both directions for more than six hours from Beach Road to Camino Capistrano.
Rockslides in the area happen from time to time, Public Works and Engineering Director Brad Fowler said at the time. Concrete barriers along the roadway are in place to block small rock slides, but occasionally that system experiences a failure.