Traffic Delays Expected Near San Luis Obispo Airport This Week Due to Highway 227 Paving Work

Drivers traveling near the San Luis Obispo Airport area next week should brace for traffic delays as a section of the road will be under construction. 

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) announced it will undertake a paving project on southbound State Route 227 in front of the airport between Farmhouse Lane and Buckley Road. 

The paving project will result in one-way reversing traffic control daily from April 22 to April 24, 2026, between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. During these hours, flaggers will be placed at both ends of the lane closures. 

Caltrans said motorists can expect delays of up to 15 minutes and advised commuters to allow extra time when traveling through the corridor. Message and directional signs will also be posted to notify motorists. 

The project will be carried out by the Caltrans Maintenance team from San Luis Obispo. The transportation department reminded drivers to slow down and drive carefully when traveling through construction zones. 

The temporary delays come as Caltrans continues improving the condition of the roads and enhancing safety and traffic flow along the Highway 101 corridor in San Luis Obispo County. 

Efforts to Enhance Safety, Ease Congestion

Caltrans recently completed construction on the Wellsona Road Safety Improvement Project, it announced in a social media post. 

The project included building an undercrossing and frontage road near the intersection of US 101 and Wellsona Road. The undercrossing below US 101, south of the existing crossroad, does not require motorists to make left turns across traffic on US 101, Caltrans said in the Instagram post. 

Caltrans’s main aim was to reduce the severity and number of collisions at the intersection. 

Over the past few years, the intersection had been experiencing several left-turn merge-related and broadside collisions. Last five years saw 16 collisions at the intersection, including 14 multi-vehicle and three fatal crashes. 

The intersection was the second-most deadly crossroad in the county in terms of the number of fatalities in the past decade, according to The Tribune. 

Caltrans, in partnership with the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments, is also planning improvements to address traffic delays on the southbound lanes of US 101 through Shell Beach and Pismo Beach through the proposed Five Cities Multimodal Transportation Network Enhancement Project. 

Earlier known as the Pismo Congestion Relief Pilot Project, the pilot proposes the construction of a left-shoulder part-time travel lane from San Luis Obispo Creek to the railroad overhead in Pismo Beach. 

The southbound left shoulder will be widened to accommodate the lane that will be open every day during heavy traffic in the afternoons and on special occasions. A new park-and-ride lot in Pismo Beach is also proposed. 

Construction is expected to begin this spring and continue through fall 2028.