Storm-Blocked Topanga Canyon Artery Reopened After 18 Days : Traffic: Road crews working around the clock repair flood damage that made commuting a nightmare. Yaroslavsky thanks residents for their patience.

Ceremoniously ending three weeks of frustration, Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky triumphantly held up a muddied orange traffic cone before a group of liberated motorists Sunday to mark the reopening of Topanga Canyon Boulevard--a comic metaphor for the 18 days that tested, and often broke, the patience of many commuters.

“This is our symbol of the opening of Topanga,” Yaroslavsky joked to about 50 canyon residents, whom he thanked for their tolerance in the weeks since the winter storms turned driving through the area into a nightmare.

Topanga Canyon Boulevard--the sole artery in and out of the canyon--was closed to all traffic from Pacific Coast Highway north to Grand View Drive after flooding damaged five sections of the highway. Construction began Jan. 17 and ended Friday.

The repairs forced morning commuters--who normally use Pacific Coast Highway on their way to Downtown Los Angeles--to head through the San Fernando Valley via the bumper-to-bumper Ventura Freeway. Those heading to the Westside were left to tackle winding Tuna Canyon Road.

Use of Topanga was limited to residents between 5 and 7:30 a.m. and between 3:30 and 9 p.m. A minute late was too late, residents said. California Highway Patrol officers monitored the area, checking licenses and allowing only residents into the area during the designated access periods.

Yaroslavsky noted that even his license was checked as he toured the area to assess the damage.

“To you who live here, I want to thank you for your understanding. . . . That’s how this happened in three weeks,” Yaroslavsky told residents.

Dale Robinette, president of the Topanga Town Council, lauded the construction workers for carrying on even in treacherous conditions. “I came up the hill at times when there was a downpour and I could hardly see . . . and there they were shoveling and waving hello,” Robinette said.

Caltrans and two private contractors kept as many as 100 workers busy around the clock, extending eight-hour shifts to 12 hours to reopen the road. “There was a good amount of overtime,” noted Dave Servaes, California Department of Transportation regional manager for maintenance.

While praising the speed of the construction crews, residents said they hoped that nature would not force a replay in the future.