Bluff collapse compromises park, closes beach

Heavy rains that continued to soak the area this week have caused a large section of Port Washington’s bluff to collapse, blocking the entrance to its north beach and forcing officials to close a section of road through the city’s most popular park.

The east side of the one-way road that loops through Upper Lake Park is nine feet from the edge of the bluff now, and officials closed the road Tuesday after inspecting the area.

The road is not yet undermined in that area but enough erosion has occurred to raise safety concerns, Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven said.

“We felt, after consulting with Miller (Engineers and Scientists of Sheboygan)  that the risk was significant enough to close the road,” Vanden Noven said. “There’s a concern that if there was another massive failure of the bluff in that area, it might take some of the road.”

And given the fact that the ground is “super saturated,” he said, the city has a heightened level of concern.

Motorists can continue to use the west side of the road, which takes traffic south through the park.

Vanden Noven said that although the beach is closed, officials intend to reopen it as soon as possible, removing the debris and doing minor grading to improve bluff stability.

They are also working on a plan to safely open the road through Upper Lake Park — one that will require moving the roadway to a safer location in the park.

Port Washington is no stranger to bluff erosion.

“Anecdotally, we have these slides about every four years that cover the path. The last two have been the biggest ones I remember,” Vanden Noven said.

The average rate of bluff erosion has been about six inches a year, he noted.

The city is working with Miller Engineers and Scientists to come up with a plan to remove the massive amount of soil and vegetation that’s blocking the path to the beach, Vanden Noven said.

Officials will also look at the options for reopening the northbound road through Upper Lake Park, he said.

There are essentially two options — the city can continue to have a one-way road loop through the park but move the eastern segment far enough to the west that it won’t fall down the bluff or turning the west section of the one-way loop into a two-lane road, he said, adding the city street department will do as much of the work as possible.

That, Vanden Noven said, is a decision for the Common Council.

“We haven’t had the time to meet internally on this to come up with a recommendation,” he said. “I will be looking for direction from our elected officials. We can make a temporary adjustment (in the road) or a more permanent adjustment.”

But before anything can be done, the rain needs to stop.

“The most important thing for opening the beach now is for it to dry out,” Vanden Noven said.

The last time the bluff collapsed onto the entrance to the north beach, in 2022, the city closed the beach for a year. That year, there wasn’t much of a beach and the lake was lapping at the toe of the bluff, causing significant safety concerns.

That isn’t the case now, Vanden Noven said. The beach is much wider, keeping the water from the toe of the bluff.

Given the fact that bluff erosion and bluff slides have become a regular occurrence, officials have discussed various ways to stabilize the hillside but the high price tag associated with the project — and the idea of cutting into the bluff — have kept them from moving forward.

The city has given the green light to an  initial phase of a stabilization project — installing drains along the bluff to help remove water from the sand seams, which hold more water than the surrounding clay. The moist sand acts as a lubricant, making the bluff prone to slumping.

The saturated sand seams are believed to be the reason for this week’s bluff slide, Vanden Noven said.

Whether the drains would have prevented the current slide isn’t known, Vanden Noven said.

“It may have prevented it, it may not have,” he said.

The city had sought bids for the work, and even though nine firms initially expressed interest in the project, none of them submitted a bid, Vanden Noven said. Officials are in the process of rebidding the project, recruiting firms to submit proposals to ensure the work gets done, he said, adding the city hopes to get a company under contract in May.

The ultimate bluff stabilization project would include not just the drainage system but also cutting back the bluff to create a more stable slope and constructing a revetment along the base of the bluff to protect it from erosion caused by waves.

The revetment would be at least partially buried, making it less obtrusive to people using the beach.

A beach nourishment program, in which sand is added to the beach, is also recommended to improve the quality of the beach and increase its width.

The total project cost is expected to be $5 million to $6 million, Vanden Noven said.

“Everyone wants a stable bluff, but it has a price tag that has to be considered,” he said.