Repairs delayed on Malibou Lake bridge

Malibou Lake area residents will be able to access their community again via the Lake Vista Bridge on Lake Vista Drive, but reconstruction of the bridge just south of Mulholland Highway won’t be completed by Jan. 18 as planned.

Due to bad weather and high costs of steel, the bridge repair has been delayed at least a month, according to George Khoury, Los Angeles County Public Works senior project manager.

“The job was shut down by the fire department,” Khoury said. “They wouldn’t allow us to work during a certain time (due to bad weather).”

Contractors lost about 11 days because of the weather, according to Khoury.

“We lost another 14 days because there have been some changed orders due to steel shortage on the market,” Khoury said.

“The steel had to be shipped out from the east coast and if we had to go with this option, it would’ve delayed the project by at least two to three months . . . The costs of steel are now five times more expensive than a few months ago.”

L.A. County officials chose to use concrete instead of steel for portions of the bridge.

Khoury said weather could force further slowdowns in construction.

The county condemned the Lake Vista Bridge about two years ago due to storm damage. Malibou Lake residents said because county officials delayed the repairs for so long, the bridge became too dangerous to use.

Officials said the delays were unavoidable due to a lack of federal funding.

“When you work with the federal government, you work through Caltrans, and there’s a long process you have to go through,” said Rene Bobadilia of the Los Angeles County Public Works Department.

Repair costs are budgeted at $1.2 million. County officials expect a federal grant will cover 80 percent of the repairs.