County to Aid in Repair of Kanan-Dume Road

Malibu and county officials announced a partnership Friday to rebuild Kanan-Dume Road, the major artery between the Conejo Valley and the coast that was closed after a mudslide in September.

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and Malibu Mayor Jeff Jennings said a loan of county funds--pending approval by the Board of Supervisors and the Malibu City Council--would allow the road to open in January as a two-lane highway.

Rebuilding of the four-lane road had been delayed while cash-strapped Malibu has tried to persuade the county to pay for the road repair. Although the 13-mile road’s southern end is in Malibu, much of it runs through unincorporated county territory.

The county plans to loan Malibu $404,000, which the city will repay by June 1999. The county will also contribute $88,000 in road funds, Yaroslavsky said. In addition, Malibu will swap some restricted funds that are not available for use on this project for another $450,000 in county road funds, Jennings said.

Rebuilding the four-lane Kanan-Dume will cost about $964,000, officials said.

Helping to keep costs down is a donation from Caltrans of 55,000 cubic yards of earth, said Malibu City Manager Harry Peacock.

Peacock said that if all goes smoothly, the city will seek bids Aug. 26 and begin construction in mid-October.

Officials agreed that the biggest threat to on-time completion would be excessive rain.

“We’re really in the hands of the gods in that respect,” Yaroslavsky said.