Proposed changes to Western Avenue — from San Pedro to Torrance — drew mostly complaints Wednesday night, June 12, as some 50 residents and Los Angeles City Councilmember Tim McOsker took Caltrans officials to task for inadequate notice and scheduling the work at a time when several other projects will also be underway around the Port of LA.
The proposed $55 million project is set to start construction in winter 2026 and will take two years to complete, California Department of Transportation has said.
But the project itself has come as a surprise to those who will be impacted.
McOsker, for example, said he was not notified of the environmental review process — now at the stage of a final draft document, which is about to be released — and said he had “grave concerns” about the project. The design phase, Caltrans officials said, is scheduled to begin next month and be completed in April 2026.
Caltrans is also currently finishing up another project that has snarled a number of Western Avenue intersections connecting construction-weary San Pedro motorists to Harbor Gateway, Harbor City and Torrance.
And this new project isn’t all there is.
Residents produced a long list of other projects that are scheduled to be ongoing during that time — including the major Caltrans’ project to replace the road deck on the Vincent Thomas Bridge. The Western Avenue work will also overlap with the Summer 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
One resident also brought up work at 25th Street and Western Avenue — where the work is set to begin — to put in a drive-thru Starbucks. The project is also designed to close bike lane gaps for Rancho Palos Verdes.
The entire 10-mile-long project — which starts at 25th and Western in San Pedro and ends at the 405 Freeway connection in Torrance — calls for bicycle lanes, bus pads, upgraded crosswalks, bicycle-oriented signs, curb ramps and added amenities to sidewalks and medians. The improvements, tied to some federal funding that has deadlines, transitions that stretch of Western into what is called a “multimodal” roadway.
Lane lines will be impacted temporarily, Caltrans officials said, while some sections of the medians are being reduced and reconstructed.
Vic Christensen, a member of the Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council, stressed that the timing conflicts with several other projects that will be ongoing throughout the Harbor Area and South Bay regions.
“It’s going to be like a perfect storm of work being done,” he said, “and traffic is going to grind to a halt.”
Other projects include work being done around Navy Way on Terminal Island, Alameda Street and Sepulveda Boulevard, the San Pedro waterfront, and the Wilmington Safe Streets project on various roads. The ambitious Vincent Thomas Bridge project is also a Caltrans project and is set to launch in 2026. It is expected to close at least part of the bridge for a year or more.
Western Avenue and the bridge are key connectors for the Harbor Area, which is positioned on a peninsula at the end of the 110 Freeway. Residents and visitors alike use those roadways for port community access.
“You have a good point (on overlapping projects),” said Caltrans Senior Engineer Jospeh Reynoza.
McOsker told Caltrans representatives that his office was not contacted about the project, which is within much of his 15th Council District.
“I’m extremely disappointed by that,” McOsker said.
Vehicular lanes, officials said, will be 11 feet wide to allow for 5-foot bike lanes and parking spaces — something one cyclist cheered.
But others pointed to what already is a congested commute by car.
Caltrans officials said the agency will look into designating a South Bay oversight official going forward.
McOsker requested Caltrans post links to the environmental documents, questioning how the many improvements could be made while not losing parking or vehicular lanes.
“I’m eager to see the environmental documents,” McOsker said, “and see what analysis you did on the cumulative effects of these other projects.”
“I think those are really going to be important for us to see,” he said. “I have just a built-in skepticism that you can have all things — repairing sidewalks, adding bike lanes, retaining parking and landscaping. I’m skeptical not because I disbelieve you but because I disbelieve the math and the physics to do all these things and not lose anything. I need to see it; we all need to see it.”
Western Avenue has long been the subject of discussions about how to move traffic more efficiently while adding more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly options. But it all comes with its own fair amount of disruption.
The Ponte Vista housing development most recently raised concerns in the community about adding hundreds more cars to the Western Avenue mix.
All the other overlapping projects, meanwhile, remain a major concern, McOsker said.
“I feel it’s highly unlikely all these projects can happen at once,” McOsker said. “And I’m very concerned about this one moving forward with so little information on impacts on traffic patterns throughout the harbor area. It’s all clustering together to become a harbor-Armageddon for us.”
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