Point Woronzof erosion prompts Coastal Trail reroute

Erosion that’s consuming Point Woronzof in West Anchorage has prompted a reroute for a section of the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail that’s now perilously close to the edge.

Crews are constructing a new trail this week to replace a section where erosion reached the edge of the pavement, according to Michael Braniff, the municipality’s director of parks and recreation.

The construction prompted what Braniff described as a brief closure of the existing section of trail for equipment and materials storage. The trail is expected to reopen Monday, he said.

Point Woronzof, located at the mouth of Knik Arm along Cook Inlet, is a popular lookout at the base of the main runway at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport that’s been eroding for years. Airport officials have long tracked the problem.

Researchers at the University of Alaska Anchorage found the bluff is eroding at a rate of an average of roughly 2 feet each year. The erosion has worsened in recent decades, researchers say, due to earthquakes and large storms.