In the Works - Community Newsletter - June 2020 | Page 11

Each year around this time,
a Public Works contractor
redistributes more than 16,000
cubic yards of sand, moving
it from the side of the Great
Highway toward the ocean. The
goal is to reduce the likelihood
of sand buildup on the roadway
during windy weather. The crews
focus their effort along the seawall
between Noriega Street and
Santiago Street.
We have a small window to
perform the annual work; it must
be timed to make sure crews do
not disturb the Snowy Western
Plover, a small shorebird that
is protected under the U.S.
Endangered Species Act. The
plovers can be found at Ocean
Beach about 10 months out of
the year but take off in the spring
or early summer to nest in other
coastal areas and inland salt flats.
Once monitors with the federal
Golden Gate National Recreation
Area (GGNRA) confirm that the
plovers have left Ocean Beach and
that it is safe to begin relocating
the sand, the crews using heaving
earth-moving machinery get to
work.
The work is being done in
coordination with the GGNRA
and under a special-use permit
for activities that occur on federal
parklands.
Public Works has hired
Yerba Buena Engineering &
Construction, Inc. to perform this
work.