Laurel Canyon Boulevard now partially open to traffic

Laurel Canyon Boulevard is now partially open to local traffic, and the city hopes to have it fully open early next week. The road was closed Wednesday after a 9,000-pound slab of concrete slid down a hillside onto the street. 

Laurel Canyon's two lanes are not fully open yet, so traffic is still restricted to limited and mostly local traffic. Crews and engineers are still working at the site as of Sunday morning. On Saturday, crews from the city worked with the homeowner's contractor to remove the concrete that fell into the street. Concrete barriers called K-rails were installed on the street as well.

"We're going to keep monitoring it because we got rain coming up next week and we want to make sure obviously number one for us is the safety and security of our residents," said Chris Ipsen, public information officer for the Department of Emergency Management.

Large vehicles — anything over 6,000 pounds — are not allowed on the road at this point.

On Friday, City Councilmember David Ryu introduced the plan to install protective barriers along the center of Laurel Canyon. When installed, the barriers would allow workers to monitor slope conditions while one lane of traffic moved through the area, he said in statement. 

The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety evaluated the property above the slide area on Friday and determined it was safe for street services workers to begin the K-rail installation Saturday morning, Ryu said. 

"This is an utmost priority for the City and we will move with speed and caution to ensure that we can safely reopen Laurel Canyon to both commuters and residents," he said. 

Pending weather conditions, the road could be open as early as next week, Kate Hutton, a spokesperson for LA's Emergency Management Department told KPCC. 

"I think once those K-rails go in I think we'll have a much better idea of when the street will be opened for through traffic," she said. "But no promises."

The Department of Emergency Management is posting updates from the work site here.

This story has been updated.

Location of Laurel Canyon Boulevard closure — between West Gould Avenue and Kirkwood Drive — due to a home's patio being at risk of falling onto the road due to recent rains.

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Google Maps / LAFD

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