Detour for SLO County roundabout construction delayed till end of summer
A planned detour to accommodate construction of the roundabout on Avila Beach Drive was postponed until later in the summer to avoid further congestion in the area during the peak tourist season.
The Highway 101 interchange at Avila Beach Drive will now be closed for 40 days from mid-August through September during the construction of the roundabout.
After the project is completed, the new traffic circle is expected to reduce congestion in the area, but concerned residents told the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors that the 40-day detour around the area could make matters worse if it occurred during the busy summer months.
The closure is required to construct the central portion of the roundabout, which 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 website.
The closure was originally scheduled to take place between July 4 and Labor Day weekends, both holidays during summer break when traffic in the area is expected to peak, according to the staff report.
The board decided on Tuesday to delay the detour by over a month.
Now, traffic will not be able to pass through the area from Aug. 18 to Sept. 26, with vehicles instead accessing and exiting the highway at the next exit in either direction — San Luis Bay Drive to the north and Spy Glass Road to the south.
Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg said her constituents “feel like this is a more comfortable shutdown time,” because it avoids peak summer traffic.
Construction on the project began in April 2024 and is anticipated to be finish by January 2026, according to the project website.
How were the detour dates determined?
The detour was postponed to avoid a period of high visitation, holiday weekends and events — specifically including a truck show at the end of July, according to the staff report.
The new schedule will be from Aug. 18 to Sept. 26., which does still overlap with Labor Day weekend when traffic will be “at very high levels,” and the preliminary work period at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant as PG&E prepares for its Oct. 6 planned outage, the staff report said.
But the new schedule is considered outside of peak summer vacation time when K-12 kids are out of school, though Cal Poly will start back in session in mid-September.
There is also an Avila Beach event scheduled for the day after the detour is planned to end, the annual Macaroni and Cheese Festival on Sept. 27.
The summer calendar of events in Avila Beach is not fully planned yet and Avila Beach Golf Resort — which hosts many large events in the beach town — has yes to release its summer schedule, but Public Works director John Diodati told the board that ”we think we can mitigate the traffic concerns anytime.”
The schedule change is estimated to cost the county up to $15,000 in overtime fees related to weekend work, Diodati said.
