Los Angeles County officers are on the point of let “the Snake” out of its cage — with some additional security precautions in place.
The two.4-mile stretch of Mulholland Freeway, named for its resemblance to the coiling reptiles, winds via the Santa Monica Mountains roughly between Kanan Highway and Sierra Creek Highway.
Its curves and hairpin turns had been lengthy favored by motorcyclists and road racers, however the stretch of highway was deemed a high-collision hall by the county following a number of deadly crashes. It has been closed to drivers since 2019.
With the roadway on observe to reopen subsequent yr, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors accepted a movement Tuesday to conduct a 180-day security examine as a part of its Imaginative and prescient Zero site visitors enchancment plan.
“Mulholland Freeway is a historic scenic roadway beloved by the local people and guests alike,” Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, whose district incorporates the roadway, stated in an announcement. “Whereas stunning, it will also be harmful — even deadly — when folks select to race or stage photograph alternatives. In Los Angeles County, we now have a Imaginative and prescient Zero aim to eradicate roadway fatalities, and Mulholland Freeway is primed for this work.”
A stretch of Mulholland Freeway via the Woolsey fireplace burn scar close to Calabasas.
(John Antczak / Related Press)
Mark Pestrella, the county’s director of public works, stated throughout Tuesday’s assembly that “the Snake” ranked because the 79th worst out of 200 L.A. County high-collision corridors from 2013 to 2017, in line with Imaginative and prescient Zero information.
“The issue is velocity on this, in a roadway that’s not constructed to go on the speeds that folks do journey it often,” he stated. “It’s scary how briskly folks will journey on this, on bikes in addition to autos, and we now have seen some horrific accidents as a consequence of that.”
Among the many security enhancements made to “the Snake” earlier this yr are middle lane rumble strips, middle lane pavement markers, velocity discount pavement markings, curve advisories and signage, and 6-inch edge line striping, which makes it uncomfortable to go quicker, in line with Pestrella.
For the primary six months after “the Snake” reopens, public works workers will consider whether or not such measures successfully increase roadway security. Ought to the measures show to scale back site visitors collisions, county officers might then implement them in different high-collision corridors.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Division and the California Freeway Patrol will help by offering enforcement.
“The Snake” was broken in the 2018 Woolsey fireplace, throughout which high-temperature flames fried pavement, melted guardrails and destroyed a bridge. Heavy rains in early 2019 additional marred the freeway, main officers to shut it between Decrease Brewster Highway and Seminole Drive.
The road reopened for pedestrians and cyclists in April 2020, however has remained closed to motorists.
