Construction Work Snarls PCH Traffic Between Santa Monica, Malibu

MALIBU, CA - Traffic was jammed between Malibu and Santa Monica on Tuesday, as Caltrans contractors began emergency construction of a rock seawall to protect the highway from encroaching ocean waves.

Crews will need about 30 days to extend a rock revetment further east, where waves have cut 12-foot cliffs in the exposed dirt and sand right up to the pavement's edge. The erosion is across PCH from the Sunset Mesa subdivision, just west of the Getty Villa.

Caltrans spokesman Patrick Chandler told Malibu radio station KBUU-FM that one lane would be closed, heading southeast toward Santa Monica, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays during the work.

"They are going to put down rocks, what we call rip-rap," Chandler said. A fabric-like material called geotextile will also be used.

"It is is basically like a black blanket. So when the waves hit the bank, the water comes and goes but the soil stays in place, so you don't have any additional erosion," Chandler told KBUU.

The contractor will close lanes east of Topanga Canyon Boulevard by 10 a.m. weekdays, and flaggers may stop traffic in the remaining eastbound lane to allow for trucks and construction equipment to move in and out, officials warned.

PCH is a popular alternative to the San Diego (405) Freeway and carries more than 70,000 cars per day in the affected stretch, according to Caltrans traffic counts.

Half-hour delays are commonplace in the area during the peak morning rush hour, but Tuesday drivers were delayed at least that long all day.

Traffic into Malibu was coincidentally also snarled Tuesday, as Verizon wireless contractors closed one of two westbound lanes at Malibu Creek. That closure was not announced in advance, and it was not clear how long it would be in effect.

Construction is continuing on another rock revetment on PCH in Malibu, about a mile west of Topanga Beach. Caltrans officials said they are still obtaining permits to fortify a section of Highway 1 near Sycamore Cove, west of Malibu, where another seacliff has eroded up to the side of the pavement.

— City News Service, photo via Wiki Commons