Coastal town revolts after $9.5M upgrade walls off beloved ocean views: 'You can't see the sea'

A California state agency is changing its construction plans following an outcry from residents who said a new fence was blocking the town’s ocean views.

The California Department of Transportation’s (Caltrans) approximately $9.5 million improvement project was undertaken to improve pedestrian safety and disability access along Highway 1 through Fort Bragg in Northern California’s Mendocino County.

But as soon as residents saw a tall new fence start to go up, they took action.

Whippy said he spoke directly with the project manager, who was “receptive to the concerns raised by the community and has expressed a strong commitment to working with the City and Caltrans’ contractor to identify and implement appropriate modifications.”

“We have a timeline for the construction crew to come back to town in the next couple of weeks for fence modifications,” Whippy told SFGATE.