Caltrans scheduled its Pacific Coast Highway pavement project to start this Tuesday, Oct. 27, weather permitting. Western Malibu goes first. The work covers the stretch from Malibu Lagoon to the Ventura County line, and it runs Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. At least one lane stays open in each direction while crews are working. Caltrans has scheduled the work from fall 2026 through winter 2029/2030.
For Point Dume, that span is long enough to stop being a detour and become part of the weekday schedule. When it's done, the Heathercliff Road intersection will have a longer left-turn pocket and a new sidewalk at a bus stop. That corner is the one that connects the bluff to Point Dume Village and PCH.
Three O'Clock Splits the Weekday
The working window is the detail that matters most day to day. Caltrans lists weekday hours from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. and says no full closures are planned. One lane stays open each way. In an Oct. 12 report, Malibu.FM said all of the western Malibu work will happen in the daytime, inside those hours.
Here is how a Point Dume weekday lines up against the published schedule.
Time block | What the published schedule says |
|---|---|
Weekdays, 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Active work zones possible, at least one lane open each direction |
Weekdays, after 3 p.m. | Outside the announced work hours |
Saturdays and Sundays | No weekend work announced |
The Caltrans announcement also tells nearby residents and businesses to expect noise, vibration and grinding during construction. It says the schedule depends on weather and that all dates and times can change. Drivers are told to expect delays and to use other routes where they can. For anyone whose errands start where Heathercliff meets PCH, the published hours make late afternoons and weekends the dependable windows. A midmorning run east toward the Civic Center falls inside the work window.
Caltrans has not published which stretch of the western segment gets paved first or when crews will reach Heathercliff, so same-day conditions are the useful guide.
A Four-Year Schedule, Western Malibu First
Caltrans's project page describes the western job as about 63 lane miles from Cross Creek Road to the Los Angeles County/Ventura County line, at an estimated $69 million. The contractor is Chumo Construction Inc. of Baldwin Park. Patch reported the same start date and the same cost figure on Oct. 9.
Here is the schedule as it has been announced:
- Oct. 27, 2026. Construction is scheduled to begin. According to Malibu.FM, the first work runs between Malibu Creek Bridge and the county line near Neptune's Net.
- Next year. A separate eastern project starts, from Malibu Creek to the tunnel in Santa Monica. Malibu.FM reported it at $85 million and about three and a half years of work.
- During the Olympic Games. Construction is to pause, the same report said.
- Winter 2029/2030. This is the finish in the Caltrans start announcement. The project page lists spring 2030.
Put those together and the PCH west of Malibu Creek will be an active project for most of the next four years. Once the eastern job starts, both halves of Malibu's PCH will have work underway at the same time.
What Changes at the Heathercliff Turn
Most of the work is pavement. Caltrans's scope includes cold planing, which grinds off the old surface, followed by an overlay of rubberized hot mix asphalt. A Caltrans presentation posted by the City of Malibu also lists a few fixes at specific intersections, and two of them are at Heathercliff Road.
The first is a longer northbound left-turn pocket from PCH onto southbound Heathercliff. On this part of the coast, northbound PCH runs west, so this is the lane drivers coming from the Civic Center use to turn into Point Dume. It's the turn home. The only other intersection in the presentation getting the same treatment is Malibu Cove Colony Drive.
The second is a new sidewalk at the northbound Heathercliff Road bus stop. Six new sidewalk locations appear in the presentation. Four are clustered near Cross Creek, Malibu Canyon and Corral Canyon. The other two are west of the Civic Center, at Heathercliff and at the southbound Busch Drive bus stop near Zuma. A Caltrans scope approval dated Sept. 1, 2026 confirms six transit-adjacent sidewalk segments in the project, though it does not list where they are.
The same presentation lists project-wide changes that will show up at Heathercliff along with every other signal on the route:
- Upgraded or new ADA curb ramps and enhanced crosswalk striping
- Audible pedestrian signals, countdown signal heads and bicycle detection
- 37 new lights within the City of Malibu
- Upgraded guardrail and replaced roadway signs
The presentation describes a proposed scope. Final striping and signal details at any one corner will show once crews are on site.
Narrower Lanes, Striped Bike Lanes
The change drivers may feel most when the work is finished is lane width. To fit striped Class II bike lanes into the existing roadway, Caltrans's design narrows travel lanes to 11 feet and raised medians to 2 feet. The presentation explains why. Bike lanes running the full length would have required more right of way, removed parking and triggered a heavier environmental review.
The bike lanes come in pieces, not one continuous lane. The presentation counts 14 northbound segments totaling about 7.1 miles and 15 southbound segments totaling about 8.3 miles. The Sept. 1, 2026 approval puts the total at 15.7 miles. Caltrans has not published a final list of segment locations, and earlier planning documents placed some of them in different spots. Malibu.FM noted that state law requires Caltrans to add bike lanes, crosswalks and other non-vehicle features when it repaves through California cities. That is why these elements are part of a maintenance job.
Three PCH Items That Are Separate Projects
The repave is starting while several other PCH items near Point Dume are already underway. When something changes on the road, it helps to know which project is behind it.
- Westward Beach Road. The road beyond the pay gate and the Point Dume Beach parking lot have been closed since the City's Aug. 1, 2026 alert, and no reopening date has been given. A revetment update on that road went to the City Council in October, Malibu.FM reported. None of the paving announcements mention it.
- PCH speed cameras. The City's Oct. 1 update says the camera warning period moved from late September to November 2026 because of installation changes and a traffic study.
- The PCH safety project. Caltrans's Segment A safety work, between Las Flores Canyon and Carbon Canyon roads, is a separate project still in early planning. It held a public workshop at City Hall in September, The Malibu Times reported. Malibu.FM made the same point: the repaving is routine maintenance and is not the safety project.
So a coned-off lane between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. on a weekday is most likely the repave. A Westward Beach Road closure is a different matter with its own timeline. New warning signs about cameras in November belong to the City's speed-camera program.
Where Same-Day Conditions Are Posted
Because the schedule depends on weather and dates can move, Caltrans sends drivers to QuickMap for real-time traffic. The project's FAQ says detours will be announced on changeable message signs and alerts will be posted on Caltrans District 7's X and Instagram accounts. On a day you're heading to Point Dume Village or out to the Civic Center, check QuickMap before you leave.
If you are weighing a listing date, a renovation or a showing schedule on Point Dume during these years of construction, plan the calendar around the 3 p.m. cutoff. Mark Gruskin follows changes at the Heathercliff corner closely and is glad to walk through how they affect your plans. Let's schedule an appointment.