Caltrans was scheduled to start repaving Pacific Coast Highway between Cross Creek Road and the Ventura County line on Tuesday, October 27. Sometime in November, the City of Malibu's speed cameras are set to begin a 60-day warning period. Both programs cover the same highway, and they divide at Cross Creek Road. To the west, PCH faces years of grinding, repaving and new striping. To the east, the City's own test data recorded most of the speeding, and the speed limits at those camera sites are still under review.
The line runs right past the Civic Center
The Caltrans project page splits the coast into two jobs. Project I runs from Cross Creek Road to the county line and covers about 63 lane miles. It costs $69 million, and construction is scheduled from fall 2026 through spring 2030. Project II covers about 57 lane miles, from the McClure Tunnel in Santa Monica to just south of Cross Creek. It's still in design, and construction isn't scheduled to start until late 2027.
So Carbon Beach, La Costa and the stretch past Tuna Canyon keep their current pavement until at least late 2027. Point Dume, Zuma and Trancas get new pavement first.
The City's speed camera program covers both sides of that line. A City impact report from June 2025 proposed five camera locations, spaced roughly four to five miles apart, so that no single part of town would carry the program alone.
| Proposed camera intersection | Posted limit | Side of Cross Creek | Repaving status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decker Road | 55 mph | West | Project I, starting this fall |
| Morning View Drive | 50 mph | West | Project I, starting this fall |
| Latigo Canyon Road | 50 mph | West | Project I, starting this fall |
| Carbon Beach Terrace | 45 mph | East | Project II, late 2027 or later |
| Tuna Canyon Road | 45 mph | East | Project II, late 2027 or later |
The intersections and posted limits come from the City's impact report. That report says exact placement depends on field observations and construction recommendations, so the as-built sites may differ slightly. Three of the five proposed intersections fall inside the Project I work area.
West of Cross Creek, the commute is a work zone
Caltrans says crews will work Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., with at least one lane open in each direction. It also warns that nearby residents and businesses may hear "noise, vibrations and grinding," that motorists should expect delays, and that all dates and times depend on weather and are subject to change. Patch reported the same weekday schedule on October 9 and named Chumo Construction Inc. of Baldwin Park as the contractor. Caltrans points drivers to its QuickMap for real-time traffic information.
Here's the practical point for anyone who lives near Zuma or Trancas. A morning run to Hank's Organic at 22601 PCH or a weekday stop at The Sandwich Shop on Morningview Drive now goes through an active construction window. According to The Malibu Times, The Sandwich Shop keeps lunch hours, Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., which overlap almost exactly with the crews' 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift. Weekend trips miss the work entirely.
When the western segment is finished, Caltrans says it will have Class II bike lanes and striping in several places, new sidewalks at multiple bus stops, upgraded ADA curb ramps, pedestrian warning signs, better lighting, new signage and upgraded guardrails. Caltrans describes the work as Capital Preventive Maintenance, meant to extend the pavement's service life and improve ride quality. It also includes some Complete Streets features, which Caltrans says are meant to help cyclists, pedestrians and drivers share the road.
East of Cross Creek, the data points somewhere else
Before any warnings go out, the City ran its cameras in a data-only test. From September 16 through September 24, 2026, cameras at four locations recorded about 100,000 speeding violations, and about 86 percent of them were in Eastern Malibu. The City hasn't said which four sites were running. Still, nine days is a short window, and that is a heavy share for the end of town with the lowest posted limits on the camera list.
That may explain why the eastern sites are getting a closer look before enforcement starts. In its October 1 update, the City said it is still studying speed limits in Eastern Malibu, "specifically impacting the speed cameras in Carbon Canyon and Tuna Canyon." The study is expected to wrap up in November, the same month the warning period begins. The update doesn't announce any new limits. For now, the posted limit at Carbon Beach Terrace and Tuna Canyon Road is 45 mph.
So until Project II begins, Eastern Malibu's part of PCH gets watched but not rebuilt. The stretch where the cameras logged the most speeding keeps its current pavement and striping until Project II arrives. It's also the stretch whose limits could change just as the cameras start issuing notices.
You may already have seen a flash. The City says some cameras are running in test mode and may flash when they detect a speeding vehicle. In this phase they are not issuing warnings or citations, pulling DMV records or taking any enforcement action.
What a notice will cost once warnings end
The City's PCH safety push has a long history. Since 2010, more than 60 people have died in collisions on Malibu's 21 miles of PCH. In 2023 alone there were 220 reported crashes, with 93 injuries and seven deaths. The City declared a PCH safety emergency in October 2023, and state legislation by Senator Ben Allen, signed in September 2024, made the camera program possible.
The cameras use lidar to detect vehicles going at least 11 mph over the posted limit. They photograph the rear license plate, and a citation is generated for review. The City's adopted use policy, dated May 2025, sets these civil penalties:
- 11 to 15 mph over the limit: $50
- 16 to 25 mph over: $100
- 26 mph or more over: $200
The same policy sets a separate $500 penalty for driving 100 mph or more.
These notices don't add points to your driver's license or bring insurance penalties. The policy also lets eligible recipients reduce what they owe. Indigent recipients can do community service instead of paying or get an 80 percent reduction. People at up to 250 percent of the federal poverty level qualify for a 50 percent reduction. Installment plans are capped at $25 a month. Payment is due within 30 calendar days of the notice being mailed, and each notice explains how to pay or contest it. The text of SB 1297 describes a three-stage contest process: a no-cost initial review, then an administrative hearing, then an appeal to Superior Court. Each stage has its own deadline, and the statute sets those deadlines.
The City says it deletes non-violation data right away, destroys violation records within 60 days after a case is resolved, and doesn't share the data with other government agencies. We're sharing these rules as general information, not legal or financial advice. If you get a notice, the notice itself and a qualified professional are the right guides for your situation.
The dates still being decided
As of this week, these are the dates that matter for PCH, in the order they're expected:
- October 27: Project I repaving was scheduled to begin between Cross Creek Road and the county line, weekdays only.
- November, day not yet announced: The 60-day warning period begins. Drivers over the threshold get warnings only.
- November: The Eastern Malibu speed-limit study for the Carbon Canyon and Tuna Canyon cameras is expected to conclude.
- About 60 days after warnings begin: Civil penalties take effect.
- Late 2027: Project II repaving is scheduled to start east of Cross Creek.
Two places along the coast are partly closed this season too. California State Parks has the end of Malibu Pier closed for piling repairs that are expected to run through the end of January 2027. The Malibu Farm Pier Café and the end-of-pier Surfshop/Souvenir Shop are closed for now, while Malibu Farm Restaurant at the Pier is outside the closure and still open. At Point Dume, the City's October 20 alert said Westward Beach Road and Birdview Avenue were open during erosion repairs. The access road into the Point Dume Beach parking lot was closed to cars but open to people on foot and on bikes.
The repaving between Cross Creek and the county line will run for years, and the camera schedule will be settled over the next few months. At Smith & Berg Property Group, we follow both, mile by mile. If you'd like to know how the repaving schedule or the camera program affects your stretch of the coast, Contact Us.