Biggest road construction project in Arroyo Grande history to significantly impact traffic for months

ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. - A road construction project described as the biggest in the history of Arroyo Grande will soon begin and will bring significant traffic impacts for several months.

On Tuesday evening, Arroyo Grande held an official groundbreaking to kick off the Traffic Way Bridge Replacement Project.

In the works for several years, the project will most notably include the complete replacement of the nearly 100-year old Traffic Way Bridge.

The bridge, which is located just off of West Branch Street, is traveled by 11,000 vehicles daily, and is an integral part of the city's infrastructure that helps link the Village area to the southwest portion of city, including Arroyo Grande High School.

During the project, the entire bridge will be removed, followed by the construction of a newer, more modern version, thus causing a portion of Traffic Way to close to traffic.

As a result, several traffic modifcations have been designed to create an entirely new flow of traffic through the popular Village area.

"We have to remove the bridge in its entirety and shut down traffic way between Station Way and West Branch Street," said Shannon Sweeney, Arroyo Grande City Engineer. "Because of that, we'll need a pretty significant detour. We have put in place a lot of (changes) to try to alleviate congestion."

Among the new traffic patterns will be the creation of one-way traffic going northbound on nearby Bridge Street, which will also include a temporary signal at the intersection of West Branch Street.

A temporary traffic signal is also being installed at the intersection of the Highway 101 southbound offramp and Fair Oaks Avenue.

In addition, a new traffic circle was recently installed on Fair Oaks Avenue outside the Arroyo Grande High School parking lot to allow for vehicles exiting the school to turn left.

"This is a collaborative project with the city," said Arroyo Grande High School principal Brad Grumbles. "That's why it's in our AG blue and gold, but it's a collaborative project. Please be patient with us as there's growing pains. All of this is for the betterment of the community. It allows us to get the legal left, which will allow traffic to head in the proper direction while the bridge project is taking place, so we're excited to be a part of it. The city has been extremely helpful and communicative throughout this whole project, so I'm optimistic of what it's going to bring to the community and what it will do for traffic flow in the future."

The city is emphasizing to the public that all driveways to businesses along Traffic Way will remain open and accessible throughout the entire length of the project.

However, nearby business owners are worried about potential impacts the construction may have on the ability of customers to navigate all of the different changes.

"One of the concerns I have that I think a lot of the businesses have is that if it feels too difficult for people, that they may avoid the village altogether," said Renee Westerhuis, who has owned the The Green Room hair salon in the Village for 37 years. "I'm really trying to keep faith that my clientele are loyal enough and they're going to deal with whatever they have to deal with to get to me. They are closing the entrance to the street that goes up to my parking lot, the direct way up to my parking lot, which is also a concern for me, so I'm having to direct people through a different parking lot through the park."

The project is slated to cost $11 million and is projected to be completed by Nov. 26, 2025.  

For more information about Traffic Way Bridge Replacement Project, click here to view the City of Arroyo Grande's official webpage for the project.

"We are encouraging anybody who uses Traffic Way on a normal basis to check out the city's website," said Sweeney. "There's a website for this project where we do regular updates. The detour maps can be found there and also upcoming important dates."