While the new arrestor bed at the intersection of PCH and Kanan-Dume flirts with completion, Tunnel 1 (T-1) at the top of the Kanan grade is now under construction. This most heavily traveled route to and from Malibu is compromised well into 2015. And while construction at PCH remains incomplete, overweight trucks with smoking brakes use Kanan daily with virtual impunity, with no arrestor bed.
Regardless, the new bed itself can’t prevent runaways, despite the realignment. As with the previous bed, it will only stop runaways that might happen to use it. Horrific wrecks have occurred at PCH and Kanan when panicked drivers failed to use the old bed.
So, it remains that the only sensible safety solution is to prevent Kanan truck runaways in the first place. This can only be accomplished with the following modifications at T-1, before the downhill plunge to PCH:
– Weight detector: T-1 southbound
– Traffic cam with very stiff fines for violators.
– Skull and crossbones warning: “Steep Grade. Failed Brakes Kill.”
– Illuminating signage: “Stop Now and Return to 101”
– Signalized U-turn lane across the median.
These ideas were kicked around when the realigned arrestor bed was first considered. We even submitted conceptual sketches. Alas, it appears the City was unable to persuade the County to cooperate and revisit Kanan safety.
Excuse my profound grasp of the obvious, but while the tunnels are under construction, what better time to build a realistic fix? The City of Malibu needs to convince the County to install truly effective safety. If not a completed installation, at the very least, install as much empty conduit and roadbed preparation as possible. A very minor change order for a bit of conduit and such could be issued to the current contractor while miscellaneous electronic details are worked out for subsequent installation.
The excuse that the County highways — bureaucracy was “impenetrable” — will be of little solace to the next victims of a Kanan runaway. And it will happen again, despite the new arrestor bed. Life safety should not take a back seat to bureaucratic intransigence.
Christopher Carradine