Long Beach Reinforces Boardwalk After Coastal Storm Damage

Long Beach officials are reinforcing a damaged section of the historic Seaside Walk boardwalk after heavy surf from multiple storms caused further collapse on the Long Beach Peninsula, while crews work to protect coastal homes and public infrastructure.

The boardwalk collapsed further between 64th and 65th Place, according to the Los Angeles Times. City teams installed sandbags, rebuilt the berm and monitored homes affected by the weekend conditions.

Inspectors red-tagged nine buildings along Seaside Walk and yellow-tagged one building, according to the Long Beach Post. Red tags indicate unsafe entry, while yellow tags restrict use.

Long Beach Fire Department spokesperson Melanie Miller said the damage accumulated through several storms beginning in early September.

"The collapse began when [Hurricane] Marie came, and it’s been building off of that. Then Hurricane Polo, now [Tropical Storm] Rachel. It’s been continuous damage since then." Miller said.

Miller said crews had prepared defenses but faced limits from coastal conditions and timing during low tide.

"There have been preparations — we even deployed 3,000-pound sandbags, but you can only do so much during low tide; there are limited windows of opportunity. And the dynamics are working against you." Miller said.

Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said the city viewed the situation as a major challenge for coastal protection efforts.

"Very seriously," Richardson said, describing the city's response and the importance of addressing coastal resilience.

Richardson said the boardwalk represents an important part of Long Beach history and community life.

"This is one of the oldest boardwalks in California and lots of memories were made on that boardwalk." Richardson said.

He said preserving coastal spaces would require significant infrastructure investment.

"If we want to retain these iconic spaces on our coastline, it’s going to take real investment to make sure that we have an iconic, quality waterfront, a coastline that is resilient and acknowledges the changing climate." Richardson said.

The mayor also pointed to the unusual sequence of storms affecting the region.

"You have to build more climate-resilient infrastructure. Because 100 years ago it wasn’t necessarily anticipated that we’d have this cadence of pressure — three major storm systems in six weeks is unprecedented in this region." Richardson said.

Laath Martin, a spokesperson for the city manager’s office, said Long Beach created a seven-point plan after Hurricane Marie to address repairs, beach restoration and longer-term protection measures.

"As we responded to [Marie], we also looked at future plans and ways to address [the storms] in the immediate, moderate and long term," Martin said.

"We’ve had two additional storms since then. Some of the work is underway, and some is coming within days, weeks and months, depending." Martin said.

The city remains in emergency response mode and is reinforcing the boardwalk with lumber and 3,000-pound sandbags to reduce wave impacts.

"Deflect wave energy on the beach side of the bulkhead, the seawall." Martin said.

Martin explained that the protective materials absorb much of the force from waves.

"It takes a lot of the brunt of the damage." Martin said.

The city accelerated the Alamitos Bay Entrance Channel Dredging Project, planned to move sand from the Peninsula and widen the beach by about 200 feet.

"We have to do a few things before then to ready it, so our crews can safely work in those conditions." Martin said.

Permanent repairs are estimated to cost between $1.5 million and $3.6 million, funded through the city’s Tidelands Emergency Reserves for coastal projects.

"Because we’re using a lot of materials right now to make emergency repairs to keep people safe, we then have to purchase more materials to do the permanent repairs." Martin said.

"That’s why there’s such a wide range." Martin said.

The city expects permanent repairs to the bulkhead and boardwalk to be completed by the end of the year.

"With El Niño, we expect more storms. They built the timeline around anticipated storms to the best in our ability," Martin said.

"But this far in advance, you never know." Martin said.