Repairs Begin on Vasquez Canyon Road

 Repairs have begun on Vazquez Canyon Road and optimistically should be completed by the end of 2016.  Remaining debris has been cleared from the road in preparation for detailed roadwork, which was required after the ground beneath suddenly rose and destroyed the road last November.
Repairs have been delayed since November because the hillside land close to the incident is privately owned, and the owner is deceased.  Discussions with the owner’s next of kin have slowed progress on the roadwork, and the County of Los Angeles expects a bid for eminent domain to come through by the end of the year.  Preparations and repairs on Vazquez Canyon Road began June 6 on the land owned by the Department of Public Works, with funding from the Federal Highway Administration, a $5.2 million effort, according to Stephen Frasher, public information officer for DWP.
Geologists with the Department of Public Works have discovered the true source of the road upheaval.  Rainwater from last July seeped into small cracks in the clay layer under the road, causing the layer to slip.  The hillside, acting as a wall, created an opposing force that caused the clay layer to be pushed up, similar to how a mountain rises due to pressure from two sides.
DWP will work on the hillside along with the road to prevent this from occurring again, Frasher said, and full repairs can commence once the remaining land has been put into county ownership.