As part of its efforts to deal with the anticipated problems created by the late June-early July wildfire in lower Topanga Canyon that scorched more than 70 acres of hillside, Caltrans will be closing Topanga Canyon Boulevard (TCB) between PCH and Jalan Jalan on two successive weekends in late September.
The closures are necessary to permit Caltrans and its contractors to perform several slope stabilization/debris flow management projects in the immediate vicinity of the burn area before the Winter rains arrive. These projects are designed to reduce the amount of likely debris flows from the hillside areas that burned and to stabilize one section of the hillside that Caltrans believes may fall onto TCB at some point in the future.
These closures will be full road closures. Because of safety considerations, no non-Caltrans traffic will be permitted along TCB during the closures that are currently scheduled as follows: Saturday, September 23, and Sunday, September 24, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, September 30, 9 p.m. to 6a.m.; and Sunday, October 1, 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Caltrans recognizes that these closures inconvenience many people and businesses, both in Topanga and for the cross-canyon commuters who use TCB. Scheduling the closures for the weekends is one effort to minimize the inconvenience. Scheduling the first closure for daylight hours and the second closure for nighttime hours is an accommodation that will hopefully further reduce the inconvenience to everyone while still permitting Caltrans and its contractors to safely perform their work.
As always, these closures may be rescheduled by Caltrans as we get closer to the scheduled dates as a result of adverse weather or other factors. It is also possible that additional closures will be necessary to complete the scheduled projects, although those closures may only require the closure of a single lane, rather than a full closure of TCB. Any such additional closures related to these projects will likely be nighttime closures.