Dismantling of the Traffic Way Bridge in Arroyo Grande, Calif., in summer 2025. (City of Arroyo Grande)

A small city on the Central Coast is in the middle of completing its "largest project to date," as described in a May news release, replacing a historic bridge built parallel with Highway 101.

The City of Arroyo Grande near Pismo Beach is replacing the 93-year-old Traffic Way Bridge adjacent to Highway 101. The $11 million project is expected to last until December and will affect approximately 11,000 vehicles per day, according to the city.

Although a small community with a population of about 18,000 residents, Arroyo Grande is noted for its historic bridges that span the Arroyo Grande Creek. An emerald-green bridge from 1908 appears as the city's lead photo in a Google Maps search, and near the Traffic Way Bridge is the unique Swinging Bridge, a reconstruction of the original bridge built in 1875.

Contractors drilling holes for 24 piles to support the new bridge in Arroyo Grande, Calif., in summer 2025. (City of Arroyo Grande)

An excavator prepares the site for the drilling rig in Arroyo Grande, Calif., in summer 2025. (City of Arroyo Grande)

The Traffic Way Bridge was built in 1932 to reroute traffic for drivers headed into town by bypassing a hard turn on Branch Street, according to Historic101.com. In 2008, the city reconfigured the bridge from four lanes to three lanes of traffic, making room for a bike route, sidewalks and shoulders. Later inspections found "significant structural concerns, including deck cracking, failed expansion joints, spalling concrete, abrasion, and erosion within the creek channel," according to a news release from the city.

While the bridge is under construction, city engineers said, they installed a "significant detour" around the project for traffic control. Two traffic signals were installed at the Fair Oaks freeway exit and the intersection of Bridge and West Branch streets. To alleviate congestion at Arroyo Grande High School, the city created a traffic circle.

Julie Hawkins, a city spokesperson, told SFGATE that the project is on schedule and crews expect to complete the undertaking by the end of December 2025.

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