Creston Road is one of the Paso Robles' busiest corridors. This week, crews begin intersection work at Golden Hill Road to rebuild a left‑turn as part of a larger, $17.8 million corridor upgrade.
For five days at Creston and Golden Hill, crews will demolish and rebuild the left-turn lane, with work running from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Work is set to begin Tuesday.
“Creston needed work for years; it’s a mess: lane markings, potholes, bicycle lanes, sidewalks, sidewalk approaches – they were back from the 80s, and I’m happy with what’s being done to Creston,” said Paso Robles Resident Lou Esposito.
During construction, the intersection will operate as a four-way stop 24 hours a day, so the traffic signals there will be flashing red in all directions, and drivers may see lane reductions or shifts.
Javier Arroyo works at La Pizza E’Bella in the Williams Plaza, right by where the construction will take place. He says he can see the pros and the cons to this temporary change at the active intersection.
“We really need those four-way stops, because there’s a lot of people who just cross at night, or there’s just people who don’t even like signal or anything, they just go, and the four-way stops can really help with that,” Arroyo said. “I could also really see that there could be backlogs, and cars, that there could be people who are saying like, ‘Oh no! I was here first!’”
Less than a mile and a half up the road, work on Creston Road and Scott Street is expected to begin on Sept. 23. This construction will be bringing a first to the city of Paso Robles – a flashing yellow arrow signal.
Esposito, who uses that signal light at least twice a week, says that while he isn’t familiar with the flashing yellow arrow, he doesn’t think no longer having to come to a hard stop for a left will be an issue.
“The view looking out on Creston south, you could pretty much see the traffic coming, you’re not gonna be… it’s not gonna happen suddenly; you can see traffic,” he said. “So, if there’s no traffic or if there’s minimal, I could see making a left without a hard stop with that flashing amber.”
During construction, the City advises drivers to use caution, follow posted signs, watch for construction crews, and allow more travel time.
More information about the Creston Road Corridor Improvements project is available here.
