County to move Penn Cove Road after small landslide

Island County wants to add 6 feet to the northwest side of the road to move it away from the bluff.

Island County has sped up plans to realign Penn Cove Road after it was impacted by a small landslide last month.

North Whidbey Fire and Rescue crews were alerted to the landslide about a quarter mile west of the Monroe Landing boat launch on Dec. 9.

It looked like a section about 200 feet long of sandy material had fallen off the bluff and that the slide was creeping toward the road, according to Division Chief of Operations Chris Swiger at the time.

The county wants to move the road back from the eroding bluff by adding 6 feet of asphalt on the northwest side of the road, according to public works staff involved with the project.

The road is still open for drivers, although there are safety cones and sand bags lining the section of road above the slide.

The section is in front of several houses and the proposed road fix will include outfall in an easement on private property, according to planning documents.

The site is within Ebey’s Landing National Historical Preserve and has other sensitive environmental aspects.

The county is accepting public comment about the environmental impacts of the proposal until Feb. 2. Comments can be sent to the planning department.

Tags: