Four … count them four … major construction projects will be underway in eastern Malibu at the same time next month.
Caltrans plans overnight work .. with 1 lane only in each direction … on PCH near Big Rock.
And a question… why are there so many Ventura County people on P C H? Answer: follow the money.
This is Malibu’s only local daily news. It’s the Thursday edition … from Radio Malibu …. 97 point 5 K B U.
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Winds are raking over the Malibu this morning.
At sunrise, winds of 16 mph gusting to 29 mph at Zuma Ridge – the hill above Malibu High.
At Camp 8 above Las Flores Canyon, sustained winds 23 mph gusting to 38.
More winds today … NWS wind advisory expires at 2pm today.
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All of a sudden … eastern Malibu is turning into one epic constuction zone.
More emergency work on Pacific coast Highway.
Starting next Monday evening … Caltrans plans a 1-point-3 million dollar emergency cliff repair east of Big Rock Drive.
The work will happen at night … every night except Sunday evenings …. and will last 12 hours a night.
There will only be one lane in each direction … starting at 7 P-M and lasting until 7 A-M … all March and all of April.
This is from Big Rock Drive east to Las Tunas State Beach.
Full highway closures may occur intermittently at night.
The road will be closed between five and 15 minutes.
Residents can expect lights … heavy machinery and those wonderful backup alarms.
Says Caltrans … the closures are required for safety as workers stabilize a slope affected by severe storms in January.
Crews will remove rocks and other loose material that may slide down in future storms and install cable net drapery to stabilize the slope.
It’s a1-point-3 million dollar project.
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And out of nowhere comes another Southern California Edison line replacement project … this one involving the digging up of streets at La Costa Beach.
A contractor will be digging up streets above PCH in the La Costa Beach area.
These include Rambla Vista, Paseo Portola, Rambla Orienta, Paseo Hidalgo, Calle Del Barco, Paseo Serra.
Also … ominously … Pacific Coast Highway.
Temporary lane closures with alternating traffic patterns and detours will be required for the duration of this project … which starts Monday … and wil last until the end of July.
This work will also require temporary parking restrictions.
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And … this closure overlaps in April with the partial closure of Malibu Canyon Road for Southern California Edison pole replacement.
As we reported yesterday … Malibu Canyon Road will have one lane closed and one lane shared by opposing traffic … with flaggers … overnights.
Edison is replacing dangerous and leaning wooden power poles with new steel ones.
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And don’t forget … the City of Malibu has plans to dig up Cross Creek Road for sewer construction.
By April … the only traffic lane coming off P C H will be closed …blocked by sewer line installation.
One way only traffic … southbound towards the signal.
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That’s four major projects the spring … not including construction of the sewage treatment plant.
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You are listening to the latest news from Radio Malibu … 97.5 K B U. ((( time ))))
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Ever wonder how Malibu … a town of 12 thousand people … can have such crummy traffic.
Census data shows that more than 80,000 Ventura County residents, or 22 percent of the county’s working population commutes out of Ventura County every day.
Some to Santa Barbara …. most to L-A.
The Ventura County Star has crunched some numbers … and says the average salary in Ventura County is lower than in L-A … and that leaves breadwinners often unable to support the region’s high cost of living.
The average hourly wage in the Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura area was $24.55 … according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Average apartment rents in Ventura County are 17 hundred 59 dolalrs …. and people making 24-55 an hour cannot afford that.
The average house price in the neighboring area … a half million dollars.
To pay for that ….Ventura sends a legion of road warriors down PCH to work in LA … where salaries are higher.
89 percent of those who work outside the county commuted by roads.
And many of them are on PCH … where they say they enjoy the scenery.
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State Senator Ben Allen has been appointed to the governing board of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.
Allen is a former member of the Santa Monica-Malibu School Board … and represents malibu in the state senate.
Allen was in the headlines late last year for trying to help spare the life of P-45, a tagged mountain lion suspected in a killing spree of farm animals in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Allen, along with state Assemblyman Richard Bloom were part of a chorus of officials and others who asked the license granted to the Malibu rancher to kill P-45 be rescinded.
Allen and Bloom both support a proposed connective wildlife corridor bridge over the 101 at Liberty Canyon Road.
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Traffic …
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Weather for the Malibu ….
It will be (((( sunny and breezy … high of 72 )))) degrees today on the beach … (((( 77 )))) inland.
Winds will be coming over the mountain at about 25 miles an hour … with gusts to 40 miles per hour over the mountains.
The National Weather Service wind advisory expires at 2 this afternoon.
Sunset tonight is at (((( 10 minutes to 6 )))).
After that … expect it to be ((( mostly clear )))) tonight … a low (((( around 51 )))) on the beach … down to (((( 46 )))) in the canyons.
Tomorrow should be (((( sunny … less windy … warmer )))).
At 9 A-M … it’s (((( 66 )))) at Trancas.
(((( 61 )))) in upper Malibu Canyon.
And it’s (((( 50 ))) at Civic center Los Angeles.
In the ocean … it’s (((( 54 )))) degrees in the water at Zuma Beach.
The lifeguards say the waves today are (((( 1 to 3 )))) feet high ….
(((( Shadowed south swell shows for select breaks … while minor westerly swell mix lingers. ))))
Those are (((( poor )))) surfing conditions …. according to the lifeguards.
((((( There’s a 4 foot high tide at just about noon.
Low tide is at sunset … 5:52. ))))
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Our KBU Newswire is posted at midmorning at the Malibu Times dot com.
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