Humboldt County officials have voted unanimously to abandon a long-sought $3.8-million project to elevate and armor a vulnerable coastal road, choosing instead to pursue a policy of managed retreat as worsening erosion threatens to send the route into the Pacific Ocean.
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors took the action after concluding that rapid cliff degradation along Centerville Road—a narrow byway leading to a rural beach and a handful of homes west of Ferndale—made the repair work financially imprudent. Nearly two years ago, the county Department of Public Works had pitched a plan to the California Coastal Commission to raise a 0.17-mile segment of the road by 10 feet and construct a rock revetment on the sand to fend off pounding surf.
The Coastal Commission approved a coastal development permit for the project in September with strict conditions, including a requirement that the county plan to remove the elevated roadway and rock revetment within 20 years and halt motorized vehicle access on the sand. However, rapid bluff collapse has accelerated the timeline. Hank Seemann, the county’s deputy director of public works, informed the supervisors that roughly 1,500 feet of the road sits less than 100 feet from the edge, with at least two areas positioned under 25 feet from the drop-off. Seemann noted that active landslide activity to the south meant any short-term benefits from the beach project could be wiped out if the southern approach is destroyed.
“That place is just mind-boggling, the unraveling of those slopes,” Supervisor Steve Madrone said during the board meeting, adding that the entire area will inevitably give way. Supervisor Mike Wilson echoed the assessment, stating that the road cannot last there permanently.
In opting for managed retreat, the county directed public works staff to immediately begin developing plans to reroute the road farther inland. The decision reflects a growing dilemma for communities along California’s 840-mile coastline, where warming ocean waters and powerful winter storms driven by an approaching El Niño are accelerating tide lines and battering coastal infrastructure.
Relocating Centerville Road inland, however, faces significant local hurdles, including past resistance from adjacent private landowners who have declined right-of-way access over concerns regarding trespassing, vandalism, and safety. Speaking at the board meeting, property owner Lorraine Pedrotti criticized the county for dropping a shovel-ready project backed by federal and state disaster funding in favor of realignment without a clear timeline or secured money. Another nearby property owner, George Brown, questioned the urgency of the erosion estimates, noting that the bluffs have changed little over decades and suggesting the natural process could pause at any time.
Despite the local pushback, supervisors emphasized that establishing a stable long-term route is ultimately vital for everyone in the area, including the residents who rely on the road to reach their properties. Staff have been instructed to approach and negotiate with landowners as the county shifts its strategy from shoreline defense to inland relocation.
