Topanga Canyon Boulevard that linked Pacific Coast Highway with the San Fernando Valley, will reopen today, Sunday, June 2.
The road was closed on March 9, when a rainstorm triggered a mud slide, closing a portion of State Route 27. The closure prevented Topanga residents from accessing the coast. Commutes of more than an hour made it difficult for Paul Revere Middle School and Palisades High School students to access schools.
The closure also took away one of Topanga Canyon residents’ major evacuation routes.
Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency to help secure federal funding to repair damage to roads battered during March storms, which included State Route 27.
Initially, Caltrans predicted the earliest the road would open was fall, but on Friday, Governor Gavin Newsom on a video posted on social media said, “Some good news to report. Topanga Canyon Boulevard will be open this Sunday. It’s about three months ahead of schedule. This repair work has exceeded all our expectations by opening months ahead of initial estimates.”
Initially Caltrans estimated that 50,000 to 90,000 cubic yards of material needed to be removed. The geotechnical report determined the slide was shallower than first thought and about 15,000 cubic yards of material was moved.
To do that crews built an access road adjacent to the slide to push down materials from the top using a Spider Excavator and loading the materials into Super-10 trucks with a long-reach excavator. From there, the trucks hauled the dirt and rocks to Ventura County farmers, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works and an art installation in downtown Los Angeles near the State Historic Park.
“The incredible work of Caltrans geotechnical and construction engineers and geologists and the contractor has returned a vital connection for this community,” Caltrans Director Tony Tavares said.
Topanga Canyon Boulevard during off-peak hours will have one-lane traffic control as emergency repairs continue, according to a statement from Newsom’s office.
Now that Caltrans has stabilized the slope and removed material, geotechnical engineers and geologists will monitor the site for any movement. Officials recommended a cable-mesh drapery system to prevent any sloughing of remaining loose materials and planting native seeds to further stabilize the slope.
Bravo! I feel for the disruption of the students, deeply. I rented a home (with two roommates) at a property off Fernwood Pacific in 1968-70. We were flight attendants with Pan Am. A similar disaster occurred that year, I think. We were stuck there with no egress for a week. We lost our patterns (on the way to HKG) to work on R&R during the Vietnam war. It took months to stabilize our work schedules. Caltrans workers should be lauded for working in difficult (dangerous) conditions. They’ve had my undying gratitude since the late 60’s.
GOVERNMENT WORK! Thank you for being ahead of schedule CALTRANS.