The battle to preserve beach access among dangerous bluffs is an ongoing issue throughout San Diego coastal communities.

The city of Encinitas is in the midst of a multiyear, multimillion-dollar effort to preserve safe access to its beaches.

Grandview Beach staircase with its 180 degree ocean views and access to a hard-to-reach beach is a popular North County spot. However, the Grandview staircase will be closed for at least the next few months.

A nearly $1 million refurbishing project of the Grandview Staircase began this week after a structural report deemed it in need of repairs.

Bruce Ehlers, Mayor of Encinitas, told NBC 7, “If you look at pictures from the report you’ll see corroded metal fittings and timbers. Also, the metal fittings were just rusted. The report talked about metal bolts being in fair to poor condition.”

The Beach Staircase Access Refurbishment Project at Grandview will refurbish and replace components that were identified in the structural inspection, specifically long-term wear on steel, timber and concrete of the structure.

The Grandview repairs were preceded by recent refurbishing safety projects to staircases at Stonesteps and D Street.

Safety defects were initially detected in a 2018 report. Ehlers said the city waited too long to address the problems and will now be proactive moving forward.

“What we will be doing is looking at these annually, if not every year, then every other year, making sure they are not deteriorating and doing preventative maintenance,” Ehlers said.

The unstable bluffs in Encinitas have long been an issue, with multiple deaths and injuries coming from bluff collapses, so local residents appreciate any efforts to make the bluff area safer.

“It’s a safety issue so I am so glad they did take the time to look at what they needed to do make them safe,” said North County resident Kerry Smith just after walking down the D Street staricase. “It makes me feel better using them.”

“Encinitas is a beach town and beach access is paramount,” said Ehlers. “We have people that use the stairs everyday and we have visitors that come to our beaches that drive our tourist industry, it’s quintessential Encinitas, we have to keep our beaches.”

The Grandview Staircase is expected to reopen by Memorial Day. Then the city’s next refurbishing project will be the Swami’s staircase.