For Sherman Oaks: 17 More Questions About the Coldwater Canyon Closure

It’s 17 days until the Coldwater Canyon road will open during the daytime again, creating traffic relief again for Sherman Oaks. Here are more questions that readers have asked, and if there are more leave them below.

Some of these questions were answered by experts at the scene when Patch was invited to tour the construction on Friday.

1. How is the work going?

According to the supervisors of the Trunk Line project, the Coldwater Canyon Avenue is on time and running smoothly.

2. When will the road open again?

Coldwater Canyon is on track to open again to traffic on April 25.

3. Is it possible that it won’t open on that date?

Unless there is a major problem, or if there are several days of rainy weather, the road should open as planned.

4. Is it possible that it will open earlier?

Yes, if that is at all possible, the road could open earlier. Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Krekorian’s office is monitoring the project daily in hopes that the road will open during the daytime as soon as possible.

5. Is it noisy?

Yes, it’s pretty noisy. Generators, pounding equipment, large cranes and digging machinery creates a lot of noise and it reverberates throughout the canyon. Listen to the video above.

6. How far are they drilling down?

Some of the holes go down 30 feet with steel support sheets of metal to shore up the trenches and keep the workers safe.

7. Are those steel sheets taken out of the ground after?

Yes, they are, and they are used again in other construction sites.

8. What happens to all the dirt that is taken out of the area?

The dirt is brought to an appropriate landfill. The same dirt is not used to refill the holes.

9. Can I look down the construction holes?

No, nearly every day the construction crews have to turn away pedestrian gawkers that only create problems for the construction crew. It is a hard-hat area that has deep holes and dangerous areas.

10. Can I see the pipes that are being replaced?

Some of the large trunk line pipes that were taken out, and the replacement pipes, are on the street where Coldwater Canyon crosses Dickens Street. You cannot walk up to them, however. There are plenty of photos and video above in the gallery.

11. How heavy are those pipes?

The 60-inch diameter pipes are in 30-foot sections that are 32,000 pounds each.

12. Is there anything being done to prevent these pipes from breaking in an earthquake?

There isn’t much that could be done if the earth shifts enough to break the pipe, officials said. With the welding and the packed dirt around the pipes and the coating on the outside of the pipes, they hope that won’t happen, but nothing special is being done for earthquake breaks.

13. What is all that water running down the hill?

The water is used to flush through pipes before they are welded together. There is nothing toxic or dangerous in the run-off.

14. Is this the end of the construction?

No, there will be more work on the other side of Coldwater Canyon, but the road will not be blocked off. There will also be tunneling underneath Ventura Boulevard to connect the two pipes.

15. So when will it all be done in Studio City?

The Trunk Line 5 project that connects projects done along Coldwater, Magnolia and Moorpark Street will not be completed until September 2015.

16. Are the pipes that are being installed any bigger than the old ones being replaced?

The new pipes are still 60-inches in diameter just like the ones from 1913, but it is made with a stronger material, slightly thicker and with a thick outer coating to resist breakage and accidental cuts.

17. Has the traffic been horrendous in the area?

Actually, traffic reports, police, the DWP and Councilman Krekorian’s office said that after the first few days, traffic in the hills on side roads and other major thoroughfares have been fine. That means people have either found other major routes, or changed their driving habits and avoid Coldwater all together.

“We appreciate that the community has been patient with this, and it has helped,” Krekorian said.

Check out the basic questions here:

* 34 Questions About the 34 Days Coldwater Canyon is Closed

* Also click here for all you need to know: Canyon-geddon The Closing of Coldwater Canyon