SLO County to break ground on Bob Jones Trail connector. Why did it take so long?

San Luis Obispo County is set to finally break ground on the long-awaited Bob Jones Trail connector after more than a decade of funding battles, landowner disputes and design overhauls.

The project will bridge the 4.5-mile gap in the path, eventually linking San Luis Obispo to the sea.

Here are key takeaways:

• On July 7, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 to award a nearly $10.5 million construction contract to Souza Engineering Contracting to build the first segment from the Octagon Barn to Cloverridge Lane, with work expected to begin by early September and take about 18 months.
• The trail project first secured its funding lifeline in 2021, when the county received an $18.25 million California Active Transportation Program grant to build the 4.5-mile segment connecting Avila Beach to the Octagon Barn on South Higuera Street.
• Rancher Ray Bunnell became central to the delays by refusing for over a decade to sell a corner of his property, and the Board of Supervisors fell one vote short of the four needed to force the sale through eminent domain.
• County records show the county offered Bunnell more than $200,000 for roughly 1 acre of his 146-acre parcel, but his attorney called the offer inadequate given the project’s $18 million budget.
• Bunnell wasn’t alone — five property owners refused to sell access along the route, with three suing the county, while eight other owners accepted a combined $458,300 in easement payments.

• After earlier attempts to reroute failed, supervisors in October 2024 approved a 3-1 vote on a “bookend approach” that reroutes the trail onto Caltrans-owned land next to Highway 101, avoiding the holdout properties entirely.
• Bunnell’s legal team fought the redesign to the end, appearing before the California Transportation Commission with concerns about a 600-foot stretch where the path shares Clover Ridge Lane with agricultural traffic.
• The California Transportation Commission unanimously approved the redesigned trail on March 21, 2025, securing $48 million in total funding and clearing the final hurdle for construction.
• The connector pathway will be built in two phases, with the second segment scheduled to follow the first, bringing the total estimated project cost to nearly $41 million once complete.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.