PCH to reopen on Sunday with some conditions
PCH to reopen this weekend after weekslong closure
The Pacific Coast Highway will reopen on Sunday, February 2 after wildfires shut down the area for nearly a month.
LOS ANGELES - Less than a month after the start of the Palisades Fire, the City of Los Angeles announced that all of the Pacific Coast Highway would be fully reopened to the public this weekend.
The announcement came during a virtual town hall with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, and other officials.
All the checkpoints on Pacific Coast Highway will be removed at 8 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 2. Just one lane will be open in both directions on PCH between McClure Tunnel and Carbon Beach Terrace, and the speed limit will be reduced to 25 miles per hour.
While the area will be open, officials asked people who don't need to be there to avoid the area.
"Our recovery effort is based around getting people back home to rebuild as quickly and safely as possible. We are making sure that the Palisades will be safe as residents access their properties with their insurance adjusters, contractors, tow trucks, moving trucks and more," said Bass. "If you do not need to be in the Palisades, don’t be."
McDonnell said that the LAPD and other law enforcement would have an increased presence in the area once it is opened.
"The presence of LAPD and other law enforcement forces will be more than ten times the deployment before the start of these fires," McDonnell said.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has also deployed more California Highway Patrol officers to the area to help with traffic.