Erosion from high surf and wind leaves Homer Spit Road damaged

High winds and tides that hammered Homer Spit over the weekend resulted in damage that has partly closed the road extending from town and left some business owners with costly cleanup and repair bills.

The road along the 4.5-mile strip of land extending into Kachemak Bay provides access to numerous businesses, restaurants and lodging as well as state and federal facilities and the local harbor. A combination of high tides Saturday and winds from the west led to erosion that will require a short-term cleanup this week but also a longer-term look at erosion protections going forward, officials said Monday.

The Spit sustained significant damage from the storm, city officials said. Just under a mile of the southbound lane of the Homer Spit Road eroded, reducing its width in places, according to city communications coordinator Jenny Carroll. There is also debris on the road, as well as erosion damage on one side and deposited debris on the other, Carroll said. Some utilities have been shut off where damage occurred, she said.

Photos and video from the weekend show a destructive swell battering the Spit, leaving broken boardwalks and railings in its wake. Some businesses reported major damage.

The high tide and onshore wind that caused the problem isn’t unusual but the ferocity of the damage from both has been increasing, Carroll said Monday. A revetment to guard against erosion has been in place since the 1980s, she said.

A similar event earlier this fall brought erosion within a few feet of the road, prompting local officials to warn state transportation officials that the next storm could take out a lane, Carroll said.

“While this one was big, it’s kind of part of continuing erosion that needs to have a longer-term plan,” she said.

The road was reduced to one lane on Monday, according to Justin Shelby, a regional operations manager for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.

Plans for the future include “adding some erosion control along the damaged area” and some other locations of concern, Shelby said.

Contractor crews were mobilizing Monday afternoon to start repair work Tuesday to restore the road to two lanes, state transportation officials said in an update.

A local emergency declaration was signed Monday morning, Carroll said.

Officials asked people to avoid driving the road unless they have residences or businesses on the Spit.