Founder and Managing Partner
Topanga Canyon Boulevard officially reopened on Sunday three months ahead of schedule, giving residents something to cheer about.
The vital roadway connecting Malibu with the San Fernando Valley was shut down on March 9 after thousands of tons of mud, dirt and debris buried the busy scenic thoroughfare, and Caltrans initially expected to reopen the road in the fall.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Topanga Canyon’s early opening in on Friday, thrilling Topanga residents and business owners, who were suffering due to the road closures.
Caltrans shared this April 24, 2024, image of a landslide on Topanga Canyon Boulevard. An aerial view of the landslide covering Topanga Canyon Boulevard on April 18, 2024. (KTLA)Ground view of the landslide that has kept Topanga Canyon closed. March 19, 2024. (Caltrans District 7)
“People used to drive through here to go to work, and now they use the 101 or the 405,” Claire Denis, owner of Café Mimosa, told KTLA in April. “People were coming for the weekend and tourists, and people from the city…Now, either they don’t come, or they don’t drive all the way down here.”
KTLA 5’s Erin Myers spoke to Topanga community leaders on Sunday morning as traffic passed through seamlessly; they thanked the Caltrans crews that worked 24/7 to get the road open as well as community members who helped bring attention to the struggling local businesses.
“The businesses got hit really hard,” Topanga Chamber of Commerce Vice President Roger Pugliese said. “Fortunately, I don’t think any of them went out of business, [although] one may have.”
Now, Pugliese says, the next challenge residents must navigate is the repaving process. He and other community members who organize a trash pickup along Topanga Canyon from Pacific Coast Highway to Mulholland Drive will head down to the once-closed stretch of roadway to survey how much garbage needs to be picked up on Sunday morning.