Beachgoers in Laguna Beach will have to enjoy the ocean from somewhere other than the Thousand Steps beach as county officials, starting Monday, close off access to fix the stairs.

The 218-step staircase in south Laguna Beach will be closed until approximately early December, according to Marisa O’Neil of OC Parks. The $600,000 project is expected to take about two and a half months to complete, she added.

Work crews will be doing maintenance Mondays through Fridays, but the Thousand Steps beach will be closed every day until the steps are refurbished, O’Neil said.

“We’ve done maintenance and patching and repairs in the past, but this will be a more full project,” O’Neil said, adding that workers did a lot of patching up of the stairs to keep them open through the summer, the busiest season for beachgoers.

There has been only one documented injury on the steps over the last four years, O’Neil said.