Sculpting the Hard Way : San Clemente Bluff Reconstruction Project Uses a Rock Facade That Looks Natural

From Pacific Coast Highway, the bluffs towering above the foamy ocean waves look very real. But take a closer look and you will find the scenic nature route along the highway is not so natural.

Some of the bluffs--now under construction after a February, 1993, mudslide, eroded the hillside--are made of the same rock you find in Disneyland’s Matterhorn, Splash Mountain and other well-known, artificial structures.

Boulderscape, one of the subcontractors on the massive $3.1-million bluff reconstruction project, is sculpting concrete to re-create the bluffs.

The rains two years ago caused the bluffs to collapse and sent a mass of rubble downhill, covering four lanes of the highway and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad tracks. Five ocean-bluff homes in the exclusive hilltop neighborhood on La Ventana street were ruined.

The railroad was cleared up long ago, but the bluff reconstruction began only last July. The project is expected to be completed by the end of February and that section of the highway reopened by later this month, Dana Point officials said.

However, landscaping and construction of Boulderscape’s rock facade will continue at least into the end of February.

Though the artificial rock of Disneyland’s Matterhorn is the same type of material used on the San Clemente bluffs, the technology in rock facades has improved over the last few decades. The bluff’s rock facade will be solid throughout, whereas the Matterhorn structure is hollow.

Rock facades are gaining in popularity for their affordable cost, often running as low as 10% of the total construction project cost, said Mark Allen, 35, president and founder of the San Juan Capistrano-based Boulderscape.

“It’s really becoming a trend in retaining systems because people are tired of looking at old ugly retaining walls,” said Allen. “And it has become so popular because you can take care of erosion projects and still make it look like nature.”

The artificial rock outcropping will cover the 600-foot-long retaining structure that is reinforcing the bluff. The structure is made of huge nail-like tie-backs drilled 100 feet into the bedrock, anchoring a concrete-covered steel mat that in turn holds the soil in place. Sukut Construction of Santa Ana headed this portion of the reconstruction.

“Doing it this way . . . gives it an appearance of being much more natural,” said Mort August, director of public works and engineering services for Dana Point, which is coordinating the bluff reconstruction.

The bluff is below La Ventana in San Clemente, but the mudslide’s rubble tumbled onto Pacific Coast Highway, which is in Dana Point.

Although the retaining structure is two-thirds finished, Boulderscape’s “concrete sculptors” started their portion of the 500-foot-long rock project six weeks ago. Initially, Boulderscape made molds of the dirt bank, shale rock, rock formations and of every form on the existing hillside. These molds are now being reproduced onto the new artificial bluff.

The sculptors start by attaching metal cages to the retaining structure filled with concrete to simulate rock outcroppings. Then they sculpt the structure coat and follow it with a texture coat to make it look realistic.

Last of all, the bluffs will be stained to match the exact coloring of the hillside and are guaranteed not to fade for 100 years.

“We are taking all of nature’s ingredients and re-creating it to what it looked like before,” said Allen.

Boulderscape is currently contracted to make similar rock facades all over Orange County, including a project in Fullerton where it will re-create 24,000 square feet of hills to camouflage an oil refinery.

Many of the La Ventana street residents praise the retaining structure and cosmetic face lift the bluff is undergoing.

“It’s going to be the strongest rock in San Clemente, and it is going to look pretty nice as well,” said Mike Taras, 52, who bought his home shortly after the mudslide. “I think though, that it is going to be obvious that it is man-made, but given the options it will look fine.”

Others said the bluff’s reinforcement has brought their homes back to their original values.

“It (the reconstruction project) is not just a good job, it’s a remarkable job. You can’t tell where the real bluff ends and the artificial one starts,” said Nat Rogers, 63, who recently had his home appraised at its pre-mudslide value.

The highway project was completed through the efforts of the cities of Dana Point, San Clemente, the California Coastal Commission, the California Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, the state Office of Emergency Safety and affected property owners.