After months of rearranging and planning, the time has come for the 40-day closure of Avila Beach Drive.
Day one of 40 started on Monday for Stage 4 of construction of the Avila Beach Drive roundabout. With the work closing one of two main routes into Avila Beach, for Stephen Pearson, who drove over to the Bob Jones trail to go for a bike ride, it wasn’t a hindrance.
“Coming here in the car to ride on a Bob Jones, it's not a problem," Pearson said.
With the Avila Beach Drive exit off of Highway 101 closed, the alternate route to get into the beachside town is San Luis Bay Drive, which is located one mile north.
There is congestion at the four-way stop at the exit at times, however, there are plenty of signs and flag personnel to keep traffic moving.
While we’ve previously told you about some of the potential impacts to businesses along Avila Beach Drive due to the closure, with San Luis Bay Drive seeing increased traffic, co-owner of the Woodstone Market, Pesith Vann, expects more people may now come in for a bite to eat.
“I'm excited for, to see that. To see more, more foot traffic come in and, you know, we're, we're ready, we're eager to, to serve the community," Vann explained.
Vann explained that local residents will likely not see a huge impact from increased traffic.
“They are getting accustomed to us being a lot busier," he said. "So they're, they're used to seeing more new faces now."
According to the San Luis Obispo County Public Works website, there will be a traffic control supervisor and flagging personnel to help mitigate congestion as well as a temporary bike and pedestrian path to bypass construction.
The closure will remain in place through Sept. 26.
