Travelers on Highway 1 between Morro Bay and Cayucos will soon be reduced to single lane traffic in both directions, as work begins to replace the aging Toro Creek Bridge.
“The traffic will begin to flow exclusively on the northbound bridge structure," said Kevin Drabinski, Caltrans District 5 spokesperson. "Northbound traffic will be reduced to a single lane and southbound traffic will taper down to a single lane across the center median and they’ll share the northbound bridge.”
Drabinski said this work is being done to address corrosion of the Toro Creek bridge columns due to moisture from the sea.
“We’re going to demolish the whole southbound bridge, replace it with a new one, and that bridge will last for generations and generations as the previous one has as well,” Drabinski said.
He added that there will be a shoulder available for bicyclists during construction and that the $6.8 million project is expected to take a year.
Caltrans will set up equipment on the southbound shoulder, closing off the parking and beach access to the dog beach at the Toro Creek bridge.
Drabinski said access to the beach on other sides will remain open.
Doug Waltner of North Fork, California, said he visits the area often and brings his two dogs to the beach.
“This is our favorite area partly because it’s a nice place for the dogs to run on the beach," he said.
He is concerned about losing parking along the highway.
“That’s a little, a little concerning. We are thinking about buying a place over here and we love... one of the reasons we want to come over here is this is a nice place for the dogs to come down on the beach,” Waltner said.
The construction is expected to be completed by June 2027.
