Nearly a month after the devastating Palisades Fire broke out, Pacific Coast Highway has been reopened, but traffic won’t be back to a normal pace anytime soon. 

PCH was originally scheduled to reopen on Sunday; however, due to concerns about crime in the newly opened areas, officials decided to postpone the reopening to Monday. 

Access to the Palisades neighborhood will remain restricted to residents, authorized personnel and contractors only, but all of PCH itself between McClure Tunnel and Carbon Beach opened at 8 a.m. Monday. Only one lane in each direction is open, and drivers cannot go more than 25 miles per hour. 

“Expect heavy congestion,” L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’ office advised. “This is an active construction zone with flashing red signals.” 

There will be no parking on the affected stretch of PCH until further notice, Bass’ office added.  

Law enforcement officials and the National Guard are stationed along the roadway and in affected neighborhoods to keep them safe. Curfews remain in effect.

While all Palisades Fire zones are open for residents, entry passes are required. As of Tuesday, they can be obtained at the Disaster Recovery Center in Westwood, located at 10850 Pico Boulevard from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. 

Caltrans officials elaborated that there is only one lane through the McClure Tunnel from the westbound 10 Freeway to the northbound PCH. Additionally, only one lane will be available for motorists entering northbound PCH from the California Incline in Santa Monica, which could potentially cause delays.

All signalized intersections are on flashing red lights, meaning drivers should treat it as a four-way stop. The same goes if the intersection is dark due to a power outage.

“There is no parking, no stopping and no pedestrians allowed in the work zone,” Caltrans said. “Please remember there may be slow vehicles moving in and out of the lanes.”

Law enforcement will be citing drivers and traffic fines can be doubled in an active work zone, Caltrans officials added.

More information on the Palisades Fire re-entry zones can be found here. 

The reopening of PCH comes days before two storms make their way into SoCal this week; officials are already taking steps to prepare for potential mudslides and debris flows in vulnerable burn areas.