Topanga Canyon Road Project Expected to Take 11 Months

Motorists can expect lengthy delays for the next 11 months on Topanga Canyon Road between Pacific Coast Highway and Topanga as workers resurface 4.8 miles of the highway, California Department of Transportation officials said Wednesday.

The two-lane state highway will be topped with a new asphalt and concrete surface from the Pacific Coast Highway to half a mile north of Old Topanga Canyon Road, which is about five miles south of the Ventura Freeway, Caltrans spokeswoman Margie Tiritilli said. About 18,000 motorists use the road each day, most of them traveling between the San Fernando Valley and Pacific Coast Highway, she said.

The project is expected to cost $1.8 million and should be completed by late October, 1990, officials said.

Construction crews will reinforce the road’s metal beam guardrails and reconstruct shoulder areas and slopes next to the highway, Tiritilli said. A highway bridge over Topanga Canyon Creek will be widened to 40 feet, she said.

The resurfacing will begin Dec. 6 and the bridge widening is scheduled to start in April, she said. Construction will take place between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. weekdays, she said.

During the resurfacing of short stretches of the road, one lane will remain open and motorists will be flagged through in alternating directions, she said.