Officials to Open Detour Lane on Closed Road in Malibu
Malibu officials have decided to open a detour lane next week along the shoulder of Kanan Dume Road, which has been closed since a Sept. 24 landslide closed three traffic lanes.
City officials are worried that the next big storm will trigger rockslides on the charred hills above Malibu Canyon and Encinal Canyon roads, further blocking emergency access to the city.
“With any kind of substantial rains, we know we’re going to get rock falls,” said John Clement, public works director. “If [those roads] get closed down, I have no north-south road.”
Officials spent $50,000 “winterizing” Kanan Dume Road as a temporary solution to the landslide, repairing a crushed storm drain under the slide and building the detour road. A one-way stretch of gravel along 100 yards of the closed road will open Monday, allowing drivers to skirt the eroding earth one vehicle at a time.
Clement said he and his staff will monitor the detour and close it at the first sign of further erosion or mudslides.
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