Cracked Power Pole Creates Traffic Gridlock On PCH In Malibu
MALIBU (CBSLA.com) — A cracked wooden power pole that eventually fell into the road led authorities to close Pacific Coast Highway just west of Pepperdine University on Saturday morning, snarling traffic for much of the day.
With thousands of motorists headed for the beach to get a respite from high inland temperatures, as well as get a look at surfers tackling big waves from Hurricane Norbert, there was a lot of pressure on PCH without the 4-mile stretch being closed. But from about 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., westbound motorists were not allowed to go past John Tyler Drive, one of the access roads to Pepperdine, while eastbound traffic was blocked at Latigo Canyon Road.
"I hope I can get through it real quick, because I've got a long way to go," one driver told CBS2's Art Barron shortly after one lane in each direction reopened Saturday afternoon.
"It's a pain in the neck, but I was down here earlier it was a dead stop, and now at least we're moving," another driver said. "It looks like we'll get through this."
Southern California Edison reported that 244 customers were without power most of the day, down from 976 who were initially impacted, although there was no estimate on when their service would be restored. Among those without power was Malibu resident Ellen Rosenberry, who brought her camera along to capture the scene.
"When I made it down, all of the transformers were still up on the pole," Rosenberry said. "But about 45 minutes afterwards they all fell, they just fell, and luckily no one was underneath them."
Not everyone in traffic minded the slow crawl along PCH.
"It's beautiful, we can get a chance to relax for a change," said one driver. "Beats the 5 any day, twice on Sunday."
The only viable detour for drivers trying to get to the other side of the blockage required about 30 miles on roads through the mountains.
Southern California Edison has begun a multimillion-dollar upgrade of wooden poles in the area. A wooden pole on Malibu Canyon Road blew over in high winds in 2007, igniting a fire that burned all the way to the beach.
