A massive landslide covering much of Topanga Canyon Boulevard still poses a safety risk and may not be resolved until the fall, the California Department of Transportation said.
Recent storms have further saturated the unstable hillside, CalTrans officials said.
Water has seeped beneath the earth, mud and rocks, indicating that the earth may be moving again. This is particularly concerning, officials said, because a large rock about 10 feet tall has developed a crack 5 to 10 feet wide.
The unstable hillside poses a challenge as well as a safety risk for crews who must transport materials from the top of the hill to the ground.
The road is closed from Grand View Drive in the community of Topanga to Pacific Coast Highway.
The landslide was one of several landslides that occurred last month after a series of torrential winter rains flooded Southern California, dumping more rain than a typical year on the region in a matter of weeks.
CalTrans officials estimate the landslide is about 8,000 cubic yards and weighs about 9.2 million pounds.
“That’s enough material to fill 5,500 dump trucks,” officials wrote in a statement.
The landslide, they said, is twice as large as another major slide that occurred in the 1940s. Officials did not know how long it would have taken to resolve that problem.
Topanga Canyon Boulevard, also known as State Route 27, is one of the busiest roads connecting PCH to the Ronald Reagan Expressway.
Officials said temporary traffic lights were placed at Tuna Canyon Road and PCH as a safety precaution.
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