Caltrans reaches milestone in rebuilding Pacific Coast Highway after Palisades Fire

By Hayley Mattson · Fri Jul 24 2026

Caltrans reaches milestone in rebuilding Pacific Coast Highway after Palisades Fire

Nearly $27 million in newly completed safety projects near Big Rock Drive and the Getty Villa are part of more than $160 million already spent restoring PCH

By all appearances, traffic is flowing once again along Pacific Coast Highway. Visitors are returning to Malibu's beaches, cyclists are back on the shoulder, and commuters once again make the drive between Malibu and Santa Monica.

But beneath the surface, the recovery from the January 2025 Palisades Fire is still very much a work in progress.

This week, Caltrans announced another milestone in that recovery with the completion of two major protective wall projects along PCH — one just south of Big Rock Drive in eastern Malibu and another near the Getty Villa. Together, the projects represent nearly $27 million in repairs designed not simply to restore what the fire destroyed, but to better protect one of California's most iconic highways from the next wildfire and the inevitable winter storms that follow.

The work is part of an enormous recovery effort that has stretched for more than 18 months and has already cost taxpayers approximately $160 million in emergency repairs along Pacific Coast Highway and connecting state routes. While the completion of the two walls marks meaningful progress, it also serves as a reminder that rebuilding Malibu's infrastructure is far from over.

Rebuilding more than a highway

When the Palisades Fire erupted on Jan. 7, 2025, flames raced across more than 23,000 acres from Pacific Palisades into Malibu, destroying thousands of homes and businesses and leaving the hillsides above PCH stripped of the vegetation that had held them together for decades.

Once the fire was out, another threat quickly emerged.

Without plants to anchor the soil, the burned slopes became vulnerable to erosion, falling rocks and debris flows. Winter storms only intensified the danger, forcing Caltrans to keep portions of Pacific Coast Highway closed while engineers assessed damage and stabilized the hillsides.

Although PCH reopened to the public on May 23, 2025, much of the roadway has remained an active construction zone ever since.

For residents who drive the highway daily, the orange cones, reduced speed limits and lane closures have become part of everyday life.

Big Rock Drive project cost more than $17 million

One of the largest completed projects sits just south of Big Rock Drive, where fire severely damaged a 460-foot catchment wall designed to stop rocks and debris before they reach the highway.

Rather than patching the damaged structure, Caltrans demolished and rebuilt it from the ground up.

The new wall includes steel beams and reinforced concrete lagging engineered to withstand future wildfire conditions while improving the overall stability of the hillside.

The project also included:

The total cost of the project was approximately $17.2 million.

Getty Villa wall receives major upgrades

A second project completed near the Getty Villa restored a 710-foot retaining wall damaged by both the wildfire and subsequent storms.

Crews replaced damaged retaining wall panels, repaired drainage infrastructure and applied fire-resistant coatings to exposed wooden sections of the structure.

Temporary slope stabilization measures that had protected the hillside immediately after the fire were also incorporated into the permanent repairs. That project carried a price tag of approximately $10 million.

Together, the two projects provide additional protection against falling rocks, unstable slopes and debris that could otherwise force future highway closures.

These latest projects represent only a fraction of the investment required to restore transportation infrastructure damaged by the Palisades Fire. Caltrans estimates it has already spent roughly $160 million on emergency work throughout the Palisades Fire corridor. That funding has supported everything from debris removal and erosion control to retaining walls, drainage improvements, slope stabilization and roadway reconstruction. According to the agency, about half of the emergency contract work has gone to small businesses and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise contractors, helping support economic recovery while rebuilding public infrastructure. Although motorists may notice fewer visible signs of destruction than they did immediately after the fire, much of the recovery remains underway.

Caltrans currently has at least eight active emergency projects continuing along the approximately 8.5-mile recovery zone between Sunset Boulevard and Carbon Beach Terrace.

Among the remaining work:

Construction zones will remain in place throughout much of the corridor, with periodic single-lane closures and reduced speed limits of 25 to 35 mph while crews continue their work. Current schedules call for many of the remaining emergency projects to continue through the end of 2026, although weather conditions could affect construction timelines. 

Perhaps the biggest lesson learned after both the Woolsey Fire in 2018 and the Palisades Fire in 2025 is that wildfire recovery doesn't end when the flames are extinguished. The greatest infrastructure challenges often come months later, when winter rains trigger landslides, rockfalls, and debris flows on fire-scarred hillsides. The newly completed walls are designed with that reality in mind. Rather than simply replacing damaged infrastructure, Caltrans has incorporated stronger materials, improved drainage systems and enhanced slope protection intended to reduce future damage and keep Pacific Coast Highway open during increasingly extreme weather events.

For Malibu residents still rebuilding homes, businesses and neighborhoods, these projects may not draw the same attention as new houses rising from vacant lots. Yet they represent an essential piece of the community's recovery. Safe roads remain the backbone of Malibu's recovery, connecting residents to their homes, businesses, schools and emergency services. While this week's announcement marks an important milestone, it is also a reminder that rebuilding after one of Southern California's most destructive wildfires remains a marathon — not a sprint.

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