Crews to Remove Rocks Above PCH

Some Caltrans workers will spend Friday and Christmas dangling from cliffs above Pacific Coast Highway.

The workers will be west of Malibu, dislodging  boulders that could cause rockslides, a Caltrans spokeswoman said.

Nine miles of the winding oceanfront road have been closed because of  the recent rain, which caused mud and debris to tumble onto the pavement. To stop more debris from falling onto the road, Caltrans workers are  using poles, ropes and cherrypicker trucks to remove some of the rocks on the  cliffs that line the highway between County Line Beach and Point Mugu, just  west of the L.A.-Ventura County line, said Caltrans spokeswoman Kelly Markham.

"They'll be working through Sunday," she said.

The coast highway remained closed from Yerba Buena Road, at the county  line, to Las Posas Road. Drivers heading up the coast from Malibu are being  detoured to Kanan-Dume Road 13 miles north to the Ventura (101) Freeway.

Another possible detour, state Route 23, is very steep and windy and is  not recommended for regular traffic, CHP officers at the roadblock have advised  drivers.