Topanga Canyon Boulevard, which has been intermittently closed since the Palisades Fire and subsequent rains, has reopened for daytime travel along a 3.6-mile stretch of the road that connects the San Fernando Valley to Pacific Coast Highway, Caltrans said Wednesday.
The reopening between Grand View Drive and PCH comes months ahead of schedule.
“Traffic is flowing without restrictions between 5 a.m. and 8 p.m. daily,” according to a Caltrans statement. “Recovery work remains, but crews plan to complete it during off-peak hours.”
The following traffic restrictions remain in place:
— one-lane traffic control with a pilot car between markers 2.5 to 2.8 between 8 p.m. and midnight;
— a full closure from PCH to Grand View Drive between midnight and 5 a.m. for pipe installation, a closure that has been in place since May;
— one-lane traffic control for Southern California Edison to underground cables continues from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays from Old Topanga Canyon Road to just south of Happy Trail;
— telecommunications companies will be undergrounding cables and requiring one-lane traffic control from 8 p.m. to midnight starting later this month.
“This milestone highlights the strength of our partnerships and the proactive efforts of our crews to rebuild after the devastating Palisades Fire,” California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin said.
Caltrans Director Dina El-Tawansy said the reopening will help small businesses in the area.
“Dedicated Caltrans engineers overcame significant challenges to implement the work needed to provide greater access,” she said. “We thank everyone for their patience, and Caltrans will continue to work diligently to complete the project as soon as possible.”
Additional work still to be done includes finalizing retaining walls at postmiles 2.5 and 2.7 to reinforce slope stability and installing the remaining 51 linear feet of an 84-inch reinforced concrete pipe, which is replacing a 36-inch drainage pipe and will increase water flow capacity during storm events.
Caltrans engineers originally estimated lifting traffic restrictions this summer.