Here it is, the height of the summer season in beautiful Malibu and Caltrans has chosen this time to tear up the roadbed of Pacific Coast Highway. The road surface is barely driveable for a day or two and after calling Caltrans I am told this is a project that is scheduled to last until at least the end of the month, if not longer. And that is the date they hope to finish. In my opinion, this road project was not only poorly conceived but, as time is showing, poorly executed. A major byproduct of this project is all the loose grave that is generated in the traffic lanes. Many cars have sustained “dings” to the paint and windshields from all of the flying gravel. Perhaps everyone in Malibu whose car sustained damage should call Caltrans and demand remuneration for the cost of repairs to their cars. Mr. Ben Ghafghafazi, at Caltrans, has said that the contractor for this project, Sully Miller, is liable and responsible for damage to cars. The person to contact there is Phil Gregory, at 805-981-4280. Mr. Ghafghafazi of Caltrans also said that, had this been a job contracted by the state, the tearing up of the road and subsequent repaving would have been worked on concurrently, however, since this was a project that was “bid” on by contractors the work was planned this way — tear up the road, wait a few weeks and then pave it. In the meantime, everyone in Malibu must endure driving on a rough, potentially dangerous road. Given that PCH is our main, if not only, thoroughfare, we really don’t have a choice except to endure this substandard, temporary road surface. However, we can make our voices heard so that a situation like this does not occur again in Malibu.
James Gray