Improvements Coming to Leo Carrillo State Park
After 15 long years of negotiation and planning, a series of improvements to Malibu's Leo Carrillo State Park have finally been approved.
The construction will remove two concrete low-water "Arizona Crossing" roadways and replace them with free-standing bridges. Once complete, the new bridges will not only improve access to the beach (now, the roads are occasionally closed during seasonal flooding), but also drastically help the environment of the southern California steelhead trout, an endangered species that calls the area home:
Historically, thousands of fish spawned each year throughout the streams in the Santa Monica Mountains as part of their unique life history that spans both freshwater and ocean habitats. Today only three streams, Arroyo Sequit, Malibu, and Topanga creeks, are known to contain steelhead trout, and their numbers are few.
Currently, the concrete roadways block 4.5 miles of the Arroyo Sequit from the trout. Allowing them room for expanse will ideally help re-populate the species. The project will also remove two-foot-tall dam upstream that creates a "plunge pool" which currently makes it more difficult for the trout to maneuver.
The $3.2 million project is scheduled to take place from July 13th through October 31st of this year. Vehicle access to the beach, day-use parking, and the group campground will be closed due to construction, but individual campgrounds and pedestrian access to the beach will remain open. So, plan accordingly.
