A portion of Bouquet Canyon Road in the Angeles National Forest, which was closed last month and had been expected to remain off-limits through the winter storm season, was unexpectedly reopened earlier this week.
The road was closed on Oct. 27 in advance of a rain storm, and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works later announced it would remain shut until April due to the condition of Bouquet Canyon Creek.
Although the affected part of the road is on U.S. Forest Service land, it is operated under permit by the Department of Public Works.
There were no homes or businesses within the closure area, but some residents and other motorists complained about having to take long detours as a result of the closure, which extended from six miles south of Spunky Canyon Road to two miles north of Vasquez Canyon Road.
The closed portion of the road reopened ,Monday afternoon, following an inspection for problems caused by a storm that left the area hours earlier. “There was considerable community concern about difficulties (the closure) posed,” said DPW spokesman Steven Frasher.
Signage has been placed, he said, “to emphasize the caution that’s necessary in the section that was compromised by the creek.”
“As long as the pavement is dry, we are going to endeavor to keep it open,” he said. “If there is a storm warning, it’s going to close, but we want to keep it open for residents as long as conditions on the road allow us to keep it open.”
A department statement announcing the closure said several years of sediment and vegetation build-up in Bouquet Canyon Creek had “compromised the creek’s ability to properly convey water within the canyon. Even minor creek flows lead to inundation of some sections of the adjacent roadway, creating potentially unsafe driving conditions for motorists.”
