The City of San Luis Obispo celebrated the completion of its Mid-Higuera Bypass Project on Friday. The goal of the project was to reduce the risk of flooding in flood-prone areas around Higuera Street.
Back in 2023, homes and businesses, like Nautical Bean and Abbey Carpet and Floor, located near High Street, were affected by flooding. This project aims to reduce the likelihood of that happening again
In order to accomplish this feat, the city installed two flood bypass channels, added 20-foot-wide channels, bench grading, and replaced the aging Bianchi Lane Bridge.
All of this in hopes of increasing flood capacity by 40 percent during a 25-year storm event, reducing floodwater elevation by 6 to 18 inches, all while creating a healthy creek habitat.
“We were actively involved in trying to evaluate what impact it would have on not only the environment but the creek channel itself and steelhead trout," said City Biologist Freddy Otte. "We wanted to figure out the best way to protect them while the project was going on."
