Highway 1 Fence Gets a Haircut

FORT BRAGG, Calif. — Workers are shortening the new wooden fence along Highway 1 in Fort Bragg, cutting down the boards one at a time, and the city says the work should be done by Friday.

City Manager Isaac Whippy said in a statement to MendoLocal.News on Tuesday that the fence modifications "are now underway and are expected to be completed by Friday 10/2." He said the city raised residents' concerns with Caltrans, which "worked quickly with its contractor to address the issue."

Passersby on Tuesday watched a worker in a hard hat and safety vest trimming the boards. At the Sept. 14 Fort Bragg City Council meeting, Whippy said Caltrans had agreed to modify the fence to match the previous one, at "around four feet."

Council Member Tess Albin-Smith said she called Whippy early on, when she saw a 6-foot-tall fence going up, to ask whether Caltrans, the Skunk Train, or the city was building it. She said he later told her it was Caltrans and that it did not follow the approved plan, which called for a replacement "as is."

The fence is part of a Caltrans project to build ADA-compliant sidewalks on Highway 1. Caltrans removed the existing fence so the sidewalk could be widened, but when it rebuilt the fence, it used boards that were significantly taller, drawing vociferous objections from coastal residents who said the new fence completely blocked the ocean view. In August, the city acknowledged the objections and said it would work with Caltrans to modify the fence.