Roundabout work to close a primary route to Avila Beach. Will it hurt business?

Bill Bookout, owner of Avila Beach Bike Rentals, expects to lose as much as $20,000 when the Highway 101 interchange at Avila Beach Drive closes this week.

San Luis Obispo County is expected to close the interchange for 40 days starting Monday to build the central portion of a roundabout to address traffic congestion, according to the project’s website.

Many of Bookout’s customers rent electric bikes from both his Avila Beach or Pismo Beach locations to ride between the two beaches. Bookout was worried the changes would negatively impact riders going between the two locations.

“No one has notified me of anything, which is sad,” Bookout said. “You think they would take the businesses’ insight.”

Bookout is not alone with his concern.

With the closure set to begin at the end of Avila Beach’s peak tourist season, several other businesses are worried about losing revenue during the 40-day closure.

Why is Avila Beach Drive highway interchange closing?

The closure will be located at the intersections of Avila Beach Drive, Shell Beach Road and the southbound Highway 101 off-ramps and on-ramps, according to the project’s website.

The closure is scheduled to last from Monday to Sept. 26.

During the closure, visitors can still reach Avila Beach by taking San Luis Bay Drive and Ontario Road.

“We won’t be creating business impacts outside of people fearful of coming,” Project manager Aaron Yonker told the Tribune.

The closure is part of the county’s plan to add a roundabout at the busy intersection. Work on the project began in April 2024 and is expected to be completed in stages.

The closure is part of the project’s fourth stage, which includes building the curb, gutters, medians, center island and sidewalks on Avila Beach Drive, according to the county’s website. The county has already installed storm drains and electrical conduits.

The county did create a temporary bike path for pedestrians connecting Shell Beach Road to Avila Beach Drive throughout the closure, SLO County Public Works’ Information Officer, Shelly Cone, told The Tribune.

Once the roundabout opens Sept. 26, construction will shift building the adjoining Park and Ride facility in the area.

The Park and Ride will have 43 parking spaces, along with an RTA bus stop and a stop for the Avila-Pismo trolley, Yonker said.

“It is improving safety and reducing congestion, and it’s doing that by making the intersection more efficient,” Yonker added.

The project is expected to be fully complete in January 2026.

Local businesses concerned about closure cutting off visitors

Located on Avila Beach Drive, Avila Valley Barn is one of the closest businesses to the closed intersection.

Beachgoers are the town’s lifeline, Avila Valley Barn’s general manager and creative director Whitney Baird said.

“I would be lying to say that I’m not expecting a drop in customers,” Baird added. “We know half of our customers are people going to the beach who take that exit.”

The Barn is hoping to put up a sign near the closest off-ramp touting that businesses in Avila are still open.

Another Avila Beach business had no idea that the closure was scheduled until around a month ago.

Reimer’s Candies & Gifts’ manager Velenna Liebmann learned about the closure from a postal service employee when she was getting her mail. She soon went and asked other businesses along Avila Beach if they had known.

“I was the bearer of bad news,” she told The Tribune.

Liebmann said she is concerned customers will not be aware of the closure and will decide it is not worth the additional traffic to get to the beach.

“September wasn’t a good choice,” Liebmann said. “Numbers are already down this year, so this is our last resort.”

How SLO County is supporting Avila Beach businesses through closure

The closure was originally scheduled to begin in July, which would have hit peak tourism season, but the SLO County Board of Supervisors delayed the closure, according to a staff report.

“The businesses were concerned that this will impact their peak season since summer is when they make the majority of their money,” Yonker said. “That’s why we’ve delayed this project outside that peak summer period.”

To address concerns about traffic due to the closure, the county is stationing traffic controllers and flaggers in the area during peak travel times.

The traffic study also indicated that traffic is likely to wane when school is back in session and summer travel slows down. Therefore, beginning Sept. 1, there will only be flaggers between 3 and 6 p.m. on weekdays and between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekends, Yonker said.

Additional flaggers can be brought to the construction site within 30 minutes if there is a need, Yonker added.

“There’s plenty of capacity on these roadways to handle the traffic,” Yonkers said. “We’re not adding more vehicles to Avila Beach, we’re just redirecting them.”

To ensure minimal impacts, the county has also assigned a traffic control supervisor to drive the detour route and ensure traffic flow continues as planned.

Yonker said the county has also set up a communication plan to get the word out about the closures and remind people that the businesses are still open.

They have published releases, posted on social media, sent out a mailer and discussed concerns at community meetings, he said.

“It’s business as usual,” Yonker said. “All the businesses are open.”

The county set up a community hotline at 805-788-3423 to share any concerns. More information can also be found on the county’s website.

This story was originally published August 17, 2025 at 5:00 AM.