Construction to begin on Bob Jones Trail connector after years of delays
San Luis Obispo County moved one step closer to connecting the Bob Jones Trail from the city of San Luis Obispo to the sea at Avila Beach on Tuesday.
The Bob Jones Pathway Gap Closure Project will bridge the 4.5-mile hole between the Octagon Barn in SLO and the Ontario Road staging area near Avila Beach. The project’s completion has been delayed for years due to a string of funding setbacks and several property owners whose land the trail cuts across.
But on Tuesday, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 to award a nearly $10.5 million construction contract to Souza Engineering Contracting. Supervisor John Peschong abstained from voting due to an ongoing conflict of interest.
The San Luis Obispo-based construction company will be responsible for completing the first of two segments to close the gap. The first section will span from the Octagon Barn trailhead to Cloverridge Lane, according to the county’s staff report.
Once the project is finished, the paved bike and pedestrian off-street trail will connect San Luis Obispo to the Pacific Ocean, “supporting the county’s vision of providing a healthy and livable community while improving regional active transportation linkages,” the report said.
Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg called it a “quality of life moment” for the county, praising the partnerships that were created between the county’s Public Works Department, the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments, the California Department of Transportation and others to finally finish the trail.
“Companies looking for very attractive candidates, what good candidates look for places that have bike trails like this, bike trails that represent health, well-being, bike trails that represent a way to get to work in a cost-effective manner, bike trails that represent values that are for everybody,” she said.
“So I just want to hats off to our team and to the community, and we’re looking forward to getting this going.”
When will construction start on long-delayed Bob Jones Trail?
Construction will get underway on the nearly $16 million section of the trail by early September, Public Works Supervising Engineer Aaron Yonker told The Tribune.
“In coming months, expect to see construction extending this awesome Class 1 bike path from the Octagon Barn to Cloverridge Lane,” Supervisor Bruce Gibson said in his Sunday newsletter.
Once construction starts, the contractor will have around 18 months to complete the project, he said. But first, the construction schedule, traffic control agenda and plan to prevent pollution during construction must all be approved.
“It’s really an exciting day to see this proceed,” Supervisor Jimmy Paulding said. “It’ll be a great amenity for the community.”
The county received two bids to complete the first segment of the Bob Jones Trail, with Souza’s low bid coming in 20% below the preliminary estimate.
If needed, the board also authorized the public works director to approve about $1 million more for additional construction costs for a combined total of $11.5 million. The Wallace Group will provide consultant and design support services for $523,720, according to the report.
The first part of the project is primarily funded through the California Transportation Commission’s Active Transportation Program, the staff report said.
The project’s second segment will be constructed in the coming years, likely once building ends on the first phase, according to Yonker, and will require a separate construction contract. That final segment will be financed through already existing budget and regional funds from the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments.
The second segment will avoid rancher Ray Bunnell’s property, since the county “was unsuccessful in securing an easement,” the staff report said.
The county and the rancher were in negotiations for more than a decade about how to redesign the bike path to go around his property, according to previous Tribune reporting. At one point, the county offered him more than $200,000 for about an acre of his 146-acre property, but Bunnell ultimately turned down the offer.
Now, instead of crossing a corner of the rancher’s land, the trail re-routes onto a Caltrans right-of-way next to Highway 101.
The pathway realignment to avoid Bunnell’s parcel is expected to cost about the same as the original alignment and “is within programmed funding totals,” Yonker said.
All together, the estimated cost of the Bob Jones Pathway Gap Closure Project adds up to nearly $41 million.
Advocacy group celebrates ‘milestone’ contract for Bob Jones Trail
At Tuesday’s board meeting, several members of the Friends of the Bob Jones Trail — a group dedicated to seeing the bike trail completed — thanked county staff and partners for sticking with the project over the years.
The group’s vice president Lea Brooks said that the new construction contract marked a “milestone” and the “beginning of a new chapter” for the long-awaited stretch of trail.
Friends of the Bob Jones Trail treasurer Dave Abrecht said Tuesday’s vote represented a major breakthrough for advancing bike and pedestrian safety initiatives across the county.
“It’s very exciting to see this step, and hopefully today’s action will be just one of many from this board and future boards to complete the trail,” he added.
