Caltrans is wrapping up work on a 20-mile $48 million Pacific Coast Highway repaving project.
It's not the scenic fire-scarred deadly-crash-prone part of PCH that's been in the news a lot lately. It's the part of PCH along the harbor, mostly in the cities of Long Beach and Los Angeles - plus stretches in Redondo Beach, Torrance, Lomita, Signal Hill. In this southern part of L.A. County, PCH runs inland, generally two to three miles from the shoreline. It is perhaps among the least scenic parts of PCH.
Caltrans' Pacific Coast Highway L.A. County Line to Torrance Pavement Rehabilitation project is largely maintenance - repaving the existing roadway with new asphalt.
Construction began at the Orange County limit (in Long Beach) and is working its way northward/westward. The project is expected to be completed this year.
According to the Caltrans website, the project will upgrade curb ramps and "construct bus pads, sidewalks and bike lanes" as well as improving gutter and drainage systems.
Streetsblog explored much of the partially completed PCH project late last month. The new pavement is very smooth, great for bicycling. At least for L.A. and Long Beach sections, the street striping appears to be unchanged.
There don't appear to be any new bike lanes, but existing unprotected bike lanes are being reinstalled - only about three miles south/east of the Traffic Circle in Long Beach.
It is not clear whether the project will add missing sidewalks (mostly missing in industrial areas) or repair damaged sidewalks. (Streetsblog emailed Caltrans a couple of times requesting clarifications on the project scope and schedule, but did not receive a response.)
The project appears to have slightly upgraded existing concrete bus pads, installing somewhat larger versions.
Similarly, the project is replacing some existing curb ramps with a better design.
There's nothing awful about this project; it appears to be all like-for-like. But, at a time when Caltrans is pledging safer and more complete streets - including reducing climate harming emissions - it feels like a missed opportunity.
This part of PCH includes Metro A and J Line stations. Perhaps a more future-facing state transportation department would have, at least, incorporated first/last mile connections to these stations.
Caltrans could perhaps change its approach as the department's next phase of PCH rehabilitation continues to work its way northward. Starting soon, Caltrans will be undertaking a $52 million 20-mile section of PCH rehabilitation through the cities of Redondo Beach, Torrance, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, El Segundo, Los Angeles (Venice), and Santa Monica.
