Some major Southern California roads close for repairs after winter storm damage

Major highways are closing for emergency repairs after a series of winter storms caused damage, according to the California Department of Transportation.

Topanga Canyon Boulevard between Pacific Coast Highway and Grand View Drive is closing at 10 p.m. Friday and will reopen at 5 a.m. Monday. Workers are repairing an eroded embankment along Topanga Creek, Caltrans officials said in a news release this week.

Several rock- and debris slides plunged onto Topanga Canyon Boulevard this winter, forcing officials to close the road several times for multiple days. Drivers can instead use the 101 Freeway, Las Virgenes Road and Malibu Canyon Road, Caltrans said.

“Motorists should expect delays and are strongly advised to use alternate routes or avoid the area,” officials said. The town of Topanga will remain open to drivers.

The 97,000-acre Woolsey fire that erupted Nov. 8 and spread through Ventura County and Malibu was followed by an unusually rainy season for Southern California, leading to numerous mudslides, rockslides and debris flows throughout the winter.

Angeles Crest Highway from Rincon Red Box Road to west of Upper Big Tujunga Canyon Road is also closed to repair damage from a major rockslide caused by February storms. Officials expect the closure to last through the first week of April.

The slide has been blocking the roadway since Feb. 15, and crews will have to place metal netting around the area and build a new catchment wall at the base of the slope, Caltrans said.

The rainy season hasn’t been the only thing to damage Southern California’s roads.

The California Highway Patrol said ground squirrels burrowed under Gilman Springs Road near San Jacinto, and over time rainwater ran through the squirrel den and out the other side of the roadway.

Enough dirt was washed away to create a cavern, causing a hole to appear in the pavement this week and forcing the Riverside County route to be shut down.

The road reopened early Thursday after a contractor excavated the site and replaced loose soil with concrete.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com

Twitter: @r_valejandra