Sewer Project to Snarl Southbound PCH

Originally posted at 7:53 p.m. March 28, 2014 p.m. Edited to correct hometown of a source.

Starting next month, a southbound lane of Pacific Coast Highway will be closed in Santa Monica intermittently for about a year to accommodate $8 million sewer line project.

Work on the second phase of the Coastal Interceptor Relief Sewer is set to begin April 15 and continue through April 2015, according to Richard Lee of the Los Angeles Department of Public Works.

Signs about the closure have been put up on PCH near its junction with the Santa Monica (10) Freeway and along the Ventura (101) Freeway in Calabasas.

Some commuters who use PCH have questioned the signs on social media, because they  ask motorists to avoid PCH during the project.

Nimira S. Alibhoy, who used to live in Pacific Palisades, said the sign saying “Avoid PCH South of Temescal 4-15-14 to 2-15-15” made her “laugh and grumble all at the same time.”

“I apparently need a (new) route for 10 months!” Alibhoy wrote on her Facebook page.

Lee said the initial message on the signs to “Avoid PCH” was bad wording and that the dates were incorrect. He said changes were being made.

“There is going to be some inconvenience for all projects like this,” Lee said.

The work will require southbound lane closings between the Annenberg Beach House and the Beach Club.

Two lanes will be open in both directions at all times during construction, Lee said. During peak commute times, an additional lane will be opened, according to officials with the city of Los Angeles.

During the mornings, three southbound lanes and two northbound lanes will be open. In the evenings, three northbound lanes and two southbound lanes will be open.

More than 900 feet of a 48-inch diameter sewer line will be installed as part of a project to divert dry-season runoff to a treatment plant and keep bacteria counts down in Santa Monica Bay.

--City News Service