NCTD and the San Diego Association of Governments launched a six-phase program in 2000 to stabilize the Del Mar cliffs through 2050. Construction of the fourth phase is underway, and planning has begun for the fifth.

So again, the tunnel isn't needed for at least 20-30 years. The stabilization cost is a fraction of the tunnel's. At some point that stabilization would be needed anyways, unless you want houses and streets to also erode away.


“Toe protection is not a popular idea,” she said, because it requires installing seawalls, revetments or other hard structures to protect the base of the bluffs.

Seawalls can contribute to beach erosion and are opposed by environmental groups such as the Surfrider Foundation and the Sierra Club.

More proof that it is technically possible to prevent the erosion from advancing. You just have to take on the usual environmentalists that oppose everything.