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Caltrans and Edison outline undergrounding, retaining‑wall and water‑main work on Topanga Canyon Boulevard; construction hours and business impacts remain in争
Summary
Southern California Edison, Caltrans and county public works described a phased schedule for undergrounding power lines, building retaining walls and relocating a water main on Topanga Canyon Boulevard; community members pressed for limits on work hours and mitigation for local businesses.
Contractors for Southern California Edison (SCE) and Caltrans described a multi‑phase construction plan for Topanga Canyon Boulevard that includes undergrounding electrical lines, building retaining walls at the slide site and relocating an exposed water main.
John Abbott, representing the SCE contract team, said crews will begin trenching and setting underground vaults in the "middle section" near the 1.8‑mile marker, and that most vaults will be placed on the road shoulder to minimize lane closures. "We'll set the structures, then we'll trench in those same lane closures throughout as they travel," Abbott said.
William Hoss, speaking for the water district, said moving the water main is expected to take about six weeks and that the water‑main relocation is planned to proceed within the existing one‑lane traffic control. "We expect 6 weeks for construction," he said. Abbott and other contractors said electrical pulling follows trenching and is faster than excavation.
Officials discussed timing: SCE representatives said they anticipate starting work in early July on some segments and that the contractor expects to finish trenching in the middle section faster than originally forecast. Caltrans representatives and county staff said repaving and final surfacing will follow and that Caltrans plans night paving in certain stretches.
Community concerns: business owners and residents urged minimizing weekday disruptions and preserving weekend traffic for commerce. Businesses told the council they rely heavily on weekend customers; several speakers urged weekend construction restrictions and consistent start/stop times to maintain predictable commutes.
Work hours and enforcement: Contractors proposed daily windows (examples discussed included 08:00–17:00 and 09:00–15:00), but residents and some council members said shorter maintenance windows would extend the project. Officials said they prefer longer continuous daily hours to speed completion, but also discussed enforcing strict start and stop times and penalties for violations.
Traffic mitigation and temporary surfacing: Contractors said the trench sections would receive temporary paving during the project and that Caltrans will perform a final grind and repave once utility work is finished. "It's not gonna be a bumpy road when we're done digging and waiting for Caltrans," an official said.
Ending: Contractors and agency staff said they will continue community engagement on work hours and traffic control, and that schedules could change if the community reports problems; targeted outreach and traffic‑queue monitoring were proposed as mitigation measures.
