DEL MAR — The southern end of Camino del Mar is back to normal after heavy rains caused a January landslide in Anderson Canyon, forcing the city to initially shut down the roadway and later reconfigure it to accommodate traffic.
It was “returned to its original service” the last week of July, following several months of a temporary “rearrangement,” Public Works Director Eric Minicilli reported during a project update at the Aug. 1 City Council meeting.
The northbound lane was being used for north- and southbound traffic.
“The asphalt started to kind of fall apart on the bike lane there due to the fact that cars were driving in places they hadn’t been driving before so we had that repaved and restriped,” Minicilli said.
The slope has been reconstructed and stabilized and utility services were installed and reconnected.
Minicilli said AT&T is expected to remove the temporary utility poles and cables by Aug. 15. The Public Works Department is installing temporary irrigation and working with a landscape contractor to add vegetation.
Minicilli said the plant size and shading will be designed to differentiate the surface so as the plants grow the area won’t look so flat.
He said it will probably be about a year before the plantings reach a desired size.
The project cost is $1.2 million as of July 15. The city has submitted an insurance claim for that amount and will likely be responsible for the $500,000 deductible.
That money will come from the reserve fund.
To help with the deductible the city is seeking emergency reimbursement funds available as a result of Gov. Jerry Brown declaring a state of emergency following this year’s predicted El Niño storm conditions.
Minicilli said that doesn’t seem likely at this point but, according to the staff report, efforts continue to seek reimbursement.
The project cost does not include landscaping.
