Paul Krekorian Tours Coldwater Canyon Construction [Photos & Video]

Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Krekorian was given a tour of the trunk line being placed in Coldwater Canyon Avenue, causing a month-long closure of the major thoroughfare during the day.

“There’s a lot of work and a lot of coordination to get this done,” Krekorian said. “It looks like everything is going smoothly, but I know it’s a major inconvenience for the neighborhood.”

The 2.1 miles of Coldwater Canyon from Ventura Boulevard to Mulholland Drive will be closed until April 25.

“So far, the weather has been fine, and that has helped,” said Jeff Bray, the LADWP trunk line supervisor.

Ron Nichols, general manager of the DWP, said, “This is the biggest part of the project to replace these nearly 100-year-old pipes.  We are happy that the neighborhood is cooperating.”

In fact, Nichols said one resident told him that it was very quiet along the Coldwater corridor, and jokingly asked if they could delay the project on purpose for a while.

“This is so that no one will be without water this summer when a major amount of water will be used,” Nichols said. That is why the project is being done now, before the city’s summer need for water.

Each section of the 60-inch pipe that is 36-feet long weighs 32,000 pounds. Large cranes and massive digging equipment is along the stretch that is in front of Harvard-Westlake School and St. Michael’s & All Angels Church.

In one section near the church, a section of steel beams were pounded down into the street for 30 feet, holding back the soil and dirt so that workers could replace the old pipe and weld the parts together. Large buttstraps are then used to help fuse the large pieces.

The new pipes are thicker and coated on the outside.

Krekorian posed for photos with the construction crew, and met Jaime Putilo, one of the project supervisors who has worked for the DWP for 35 years, as well as Daniel Arrigo and Don Saunders.

Along Coldwater Canyon at Dickens there are pieces of the old pipe next to the new pipe. Residents have wanted to come to see the hole, and the construction, but this is a stark indicator of what needs to be replaced in order to prevent flooding that happened in 2009, causing $7 million in destruction to houses and businesses in Studio City.

This is part of a trunk line project that continues down Coldwater to Moorpark and Magnolia and connects with pipes there. That section should be done by September 2015.

Krekorian said, “I’m sure this is a tremendous inconvenience in one of the main thoroughfares in Los Angeles, but I am glad that they have been patient. So far so good.”

See the video and stay tuned for more answers about the construction site.

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