Santa Barbara County is closing an area of Goleta Beach County Park to use as a work site to address the aftermath of recent winter storms.
Preparation of the east end area of the beach is expected to begin on Wednesday. The park closure is expected to run through March, county staff estimate.
Crews will remove sediment that washed into Goleta Slough watersheds during the record-breaking storms in December and January. Sediment hauling is expected to begin next Monday.
The closed area of the beach will be used to transport the removed sediment, which will eventually be reused and laid along the shoreline.
Flood-channels near the Santa Barbara Airport, Old Town Goleta and areas of the Eastern Goleta Valley collected large amounts of sediment that need to be cleared out to maintain flood-control protection, county staff said.
Laying the sediment along the shoreline will increase beach width and buffer the area from wave impacts, according to county staff.
This work come nearly three weeks after the Santa Barbara County declared a local emergency due to the intense storms and the damages they left behind.
The county advises beach visitors to be cautious if traveling along the Obern Trail as trucks and heavy equipment will be present.