The long awaited reopening of Lower Rambla Pacifico Road is scheduled to take place “around Oct. 20,” according to Scott Dittrich, president of the homeowner’s group that has paid to reconstruct the road. The northern portion of the road has been separated from Pacific Coast Highway since a landslide in 1984.
The 76-member Lower Rambla Pacifico Road Owners Association has paid $4 million, Dittrich said, to construct a private road that would reestablish a link between the northern and southern sections of Rambla Pacifico Road. Dittrich said a stone base would be laid for the access road this week, and paving would take place two weeks later.
The new, gated road will be 1,800 feet long and 20 feet wide. It will be privately funded and maintained by the road owners association. Dittrich said the gate still needed to be relocated approximately 230 feet to accommodate the wishes of two homeowners who originally wanted to be behind the gate, but changed their minds. The project goes before the City of Malibu Planning Commission Oct. 4 to receive approval to move the gate.
Additionally, a five-foot wide trail easement has been granted across the road to allow for the re-establishment of the Malibu Pacific Trail. People will be able to access the trail through small entries located next to the vehicular gates on foot, bicycle or horse.
There has not been an access road from Rambla Pacifico to the highway since a landslide in 1984 closed a portion of the road. Various legal disputes and other problems have prevented the road from being reconstructed since that time. The difficulty emergency vehicles have in accessing Rambla Pacifico was blamed for causing the further spread of the 1993 fire, which led to two deaths.
“This is actually just a huge benefit to all of eastern Malibu, because it’s going to allow firemen to stop a fire and to be able to fight a fire,” Dittrich said. “So it won’t spread as it did in ‘93 where it burned all the way to PCH in that fire because of a lack of access. During a fire or other emergencies, the fire department will have access to it of course.”
Dittrich added that the benefit of access for emergency vehicles would also help the safety of residents along the road in non-fire situations, because the majority of calls to the fire department involve calls for paramedic services.
“A leader of our group, David Kagon died I guess 2 years ago. Had there been access, could it have saved him by getting there earlier, nobody knows?” Dittrich said. “If somebody doesn’t respond in first 15 mins to half-hour to a heart attack it makes a huge difference. If it takes fire department long to get here, that can be a life or death matter.”
Dittrich said there would be a ribbon-cutting ceremony with neighbors and city leaders.