Tricky emergency repairs of a crumbling cliff below Scenic Road set to begin Feb. 14.

A small section of Scenic Road along Carmel State Beach was left suspended over thin air after the wave of storms that hit Monterey County in January, leaving behind a complicated engineering fix for the Monterey County Public Works department. 

After talking to consultants that specialize in such tricky situations where a cliff is literally falling away, a repair plan is now in place and work is set to begin Feb. 14, according to a county press release. It's estimated to take 10 weeks, depending on weather and other conditions. 

The estimated cost of the repairs is $2.2 million. It will come out of federal funds stemming from the emergency declaration issued by Pres. Joe Biden on Jan. 18 in the wake of January's storms.

"The repairs will be challenging from an engineering perspective because they must be designed to restore the carrying capacity of the road, and protect it from storm runoff erosion, scouring of ocean waves, and potential wind erosion," the release said.

The emergency repair must also provide a platform to restore sewer service, water service, and other underground utility service to neighboring homes.

The plan is to construct a soil nail wall, by driving 15- to 30-foot nails into the slope below Scenic Road. It's a strategy used to protect coastal cliffs from eroding into the sea. The nails will anchor and hold a mesh cover to contain the sand and other materials under the road.

"Scenic Road repairs will truly be challenging not only because of its delicate geological location, proximity to state parks and limited accessibility but also the need to maintain access to the homes accessing directly to Scenic Road," according to the release.

The repair plan also necessitated talking to numerous regulatory agencies, including California State Parks, Department of Fish and Wildlife, Regional Water Quality Control Board, Army Corps of Engineers, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the California Coastal Commission.

Project work hours will be 8am-5pm, Monday through Saturday. The road will be closed to through traffic at those times.