West Grand Avenue motorists and pedestrians crossing Meadow Creek can expect to see a stone veneer, pilasters and decorative steel railings when its bridge is rehabilitated after Labor Day.

By consensus, the Grover Beach City Council approved the design for Meadow Creek Bridge last week.

“Putting your typical concrete wall down there just doesn't quite do it,” said Mayor Pro Tem John Shoals. “I think it's about time people in Grover Beach get something nice.”

The precast aesthetic design will replace the 50-plus-year-old timber-and-concrete bridge at the northern entrance to Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area and Pismo State Beach.

Council members narrowed the bridge design options at their April 16 meeting but did not finalize a choice because they wanted to see certain options with modifications.

The project is currently expected to be completed by June 2008 and estimated to cost $2.2 million.

The 2003 San Simeon Earthquake severely damaged the bridge, with portions of it sinking into the ground.

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Originally four lanes, the bridge is currently reduced to two lanes because of the damage and dry rot and is subject to temporary closure during periods of high water, city officials said.

“As time has progressed, the problem down there has gotten worse,” Oceano Dunes Superintendent Andy Zilke said of the bridge's deterioration.

The return to four lanes is expected to accommodate traffic for future developments in the area, officials said.

In the future, the California Department of Parks and Recreation is considering diverting traffic from the dunes' Pier Avenue entrance to the Grover Beach ramp during high-traffic weekends and holidays.

The four lanes would only aid in that effort, according to Zilke.

“The (Grover Beach) entryway there is pretty critical,” Zilke said. “Certainly, to have four lanes there would certainly ease any traffic congestion issues there, especially in light of future development.”

Those developments include the proposed Pacific Coast Hotel and the planned Beachfront Lodge & Conference Center.

While Pier Avenue in Oceano remains the primary access to the Oceano Dunes, an estimated 40 percent of the vehicles entering the dunes each year go through the Grand Avenue entrance, crossing Meadow Creek Bridge, Zilke said.

The bridge would connect to the future Beachfront Lodge & Conference Center, and the architectural treatment of the bridge is being coordinated with the center, officials said.

“The stonework, the open railing on top of the fence ... are certainly going to be features that we envision being part of the lodge and the site improvements,” Shoals said. “It's definitely a good start.”

Funds acquired by Congresswoman Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, will be allocated for the construction of additional West Grand Avenue street enhancements, according to city staff.

May 18, 2007