Road Diversion Approved

The Rancho Palos Verdes City Council, sitting as the Redevelopment Agency, gave the go-ahead for relocating part of Palos Verdes Drive South when it certified the project’s environmental impact report as complete.

Relocation of a 2,300-foot stretch of the road is the second phase of a $2-million program to halt the Portuguese Bend landslide. During the 31-year-old slide, the road has slid as much as 350 feet toward the sea.

Regrading and patching the roller-coaster-like road is costing the city $225,000 a year, but that will drop to $37,143 a year with the relocation, which will cost an estimated $500,000.

Work on the project could begin as early as Dec. 15, said Charles Abbott, city public works consultant in charge of the stabilization effort. He said he hopes to have construction bids to the agency by the Dec. 1 City Council meeting.