Architectural rendering of what the new Los Osos Creek Bridge on South Bay Boulevard will look like when construction is completed sometime in Fall 2027. Rendering courtesy SLO County Public Works
The long-awaited replacement of a key bridge connecting Los Osos and Morro Bay is set to begin.
The County Public Works Department said it would begin the replacement for the road bridge over Los Osos Creek on South Bay Boulevard this month.
“The bridge,” reads a news release from the County, “serves as a vital connection between Los Osos and Morro Bay and is also along a designated emergency evacuation route for the Diablo Canyon Power Plant.”
Constructed in 1966, it “consists of a three-span concrete bridge. Due to its age and design, the bridge is seismically deficient and could potentially collapse during a strong earthquake.”
The project will construct a “new, longer, and wider two-span concrete bridge,” the County explained. “The new bridge will be built immediately adjacent to and along the east side of the existing bridge and will feature 8-foot shoulders with bike lanes, as well as a separate 5-foot-wide pedestrian path.”
They plan to keep the old bridge open to vehicle and bicycles, “however vehicle speeds may be reduced for safety in the construction zone. There will also be times when the shoulders and bike lanes will be closed, requiring bicyclists to share the roadway with vehicles. Once the new bridge is complete and open to traffic, the existing bridge will be demolished.”
The project is budgeted at over $23 million, and the contract went to Security Paving Company, headquartered in West Lake Village, CA.
Some 88-percent of the project cost is funded through the Federal Highway Bridge Program, the County said. The rest is coming out of the County’s regular roads monies.
The project is slated to be completed sometime in fall 2027.
South Bay Boulevard is the only direct road linking Los Osos and Morro Bay and is heavily traveled every day. Among those travelers are school children from Morro Bay going to Los Osos Middle School and high schoolers going from Los Osos to Morro Bay High. Also, numerous working people commute on the route and regional buses also traverse South Bay daily. It is also a popular route for cyclists.
Readers are advised to use caution when traveling through the construction zone once work begins.
