By SARAH SHMERLING | Managing Editor
Topanga Canyon Boulevard is closed in both directions from Pacific Coast Highway to Grand View Drive due to what is being described as a “large mudslide,” Caltrans reported at 5 a.m. this morning. All lanes in both directions are expected to remain closed through at least Sunday night, March 18, with the expectation of more rain this weekend.
“At approximately 2:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 15, a slide occurred near mile post marker 1.5 of Topanga Canyon Boulevard,” Caltrans reported. “After the ground became saturated in a former burn area, large rocks, mud, debris and ash slid down the slope and over the gully and roadway shoulder. A drainage pipe at that location became clogged with mud and debris and the overflow spilled onto the roadway.”
The closure spans approximately four miles within a rural area, with no homes or businesses within the area of the slide.
This slide follows a closure on March 2 in the same area. At the time of that closure, Caltrans installed several hundred feet of K-rail with fence on top for a total height of eight feet to catch mud and rocks.
“This morning’s slide occurred over a gully just outside the parameters of the K-rail in three separate locations within a span of approximately 1,000 feet,” according to Caltrans.
There are skip loaders, backhoes, dump trucks and sweepers on the scene working to clear the roadway.
Commuters are advised to use alternate routes.
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