The blue sign over Ocean and Colorado has stood since June 17, 1941. This fall it gets taken apart in sections, packed onto flatbed trailers and driven to Las Vegas. The Santa Monica Daily Press reported in late September that removal is expected in October or November. The City's own construction page still says only "fall 2026." When the sign comes back, it will sit on a new bridge. That bridge is the reason the Pier now runs on two schedules. The construction crews work weekday mornings and stop at 1 p.m. The Pier's own calendar for locals happens in the afternoons, evenings and weekends that are left over. Once you know where that line falls, it's easy to plan around 14 months of construction.
What leaves, and what stands in for it
The removal process is simple to follow. Crews disconnect the power, pull out the neon tubes and crate them. Next they unbolt the Crown Sign and lift it off by crane while temporary supports hold the historic sign cage. Then the arched truss and columns come down into steel shipping frames. YESCO, the sign company behind the restorations of the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign and the 105-year-old Sweet Candy Company sign, will restore the neon, remove rust, repaint and make structural repairs. The sign stays in YESCO's facility until the bridge is finished.
The Pan Pacific Neon Sign Company designed the sign, and it is listed on the California Register of Historical Resources. The City's plan for the gap is a half-scale replica you can photograph. The City describes where to find it:
"Be sure to get your photo by heading down the bridge, just before Pier Burger, and find the replica sign to your left... It even lights up at night!"
The original won't come back in exactly the same spot. The Daily Press reports it will return about 10 feet north of where it stood and higher than before. The City says the extra height improves visibility and gives vehicles more clearance underneath.
Two clocks on the same deck
The bridge is coming out because it has worn out. The Works Progress Administration built it in 1939. By the time replacement began, it scored 8.2 on a 100-point federal sufficiency scale. Any bridge below 50 qualifies for federal replacement money. Crews are now building the new foundation. They start at the base of the Pier and work toward Ocean Avenue, drilling deep shafts and filling them with steel and concrete. The City warns that the drilling may be loud and disruptive.
All of that happens in a set window, weekdays from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. During the same hours, crews may close Ocean Front Walk under the bridge for short stretches, with flaggers guiding people on foot around the work. The table below sets the work window beside the fall calendar the Santa Monica Pier Corporation has published.
| Time slot | What's happening |
|---|---|
| Weekdays, 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Foundation drilling near Ocean and Colorado; intermittent Ocean Front Walk closures under the bridge |
| Saturdays, 8 to 10 a.m. | Wellness & Waves, final session October 17 |
| Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. | Guided Pier history walks |
| Mondays at sunset | Guided history walk; Pier pages list both 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. |
| Last Thursday of the month, 6 to 7 p.m. | Free Pier history talk at the Merry Go-Round building |
| Thursday, October 15, evening | October Locals' Night |
Not one of those programs overlaps the drilling window. The City's milestone schedule shows foundation work running from July through December 2026, with construction of the new bridge overlapping it from October 2026 through August 2027. The City notes that these dates can shift.
Getting onto the deck now
The entrance has moved. A temporary pedestrian bridge about 30 feet south of the old entrance is now the main way in. You can't ride it. Bikes, skateboards and other small vehicles go by way of Seaside Terrace. The Daily Press lists four ways onto the Pier on foot:
- The temporary pedestrian bridge, a short walk south of the old Ocean and Colorado entrance.
- Ocean Front Walk, which stays open to pedestrians throughout construction, with brief weekday-morning reroutes under the bridge.
- A protected path that runs beside the temporary vehicle ramp.
- The stairs near Bubba Gump.
Cars can no longer use the old ramp at Ocean and Colorado. A temporary ramp on the southwest side connects from the beach parking side, but City materials disagree on whether the public can use it or only emergency and delivery vehicles. If you're coming from farther inland, the Lookout points out that several local bus routes and the Metro E Line stop downtown, a short walk from the Pier.
The drive down, through Thanksgiving week
The biggest change for drivers is at the bottom of the bluff. The on- and off-ramps on Moomat Ahiko Way between Ocean Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway closed on Monday, September 28, for about two months. Crews are using that time to demolish the last section of the old bridge and build columns for the new one. According to the Daily Press, it is the largest piece of the bridge demolished since the project began, and the longest closure the road has had so far. The road's name is Tongva and means "Breath of the Ocean."
Detours while it's closed:
- Southbound PCH: exit at the California Incline, or stay on eastbound I-10 to Lincoln Boulevard.
- Ocean Avenue to PCH: keep heading north to the California Incline.
- Pier vehicle access: stays open from PCH.
Starting tomorrow, Monday, October 5, Appian Way is fully closed under the bridge through Friday, October 9, while crews install shoring. Appian Way is the road into the south side of the Pier parking lot. The City recommends Beach Lot 4 South, Beach Lot 3 North and Parking Structure 8 at Santa Monica Place. On October 5 and 6, the outside southeast lane and bike lane at Ocean and Colorado will also close for signal work. The City's webpage and its September email give different hours, so check the latest alert before you head out.
Beach Parking Lot 1 North has also shrunk. One-third of it is being used as a construction staging area, and the City estimated when the project started that about 726 spaces in Lot 1 would stay available. The lot is scheduled to be fully restored between June and September 2027.
The rest of the year's calendar, after the crews clock out
The Pier Corporation has scheduled its fall and holiday programs outside the work window:
- October Locals' Night, Thursday, October 15. A screening of Dogtown and Z-Boys, Z-Boys DJs, live music, a skate ramp, a classic-car meet, salsa lessons and children's storytime.
- Día de los Muertos, October 31 to November 1. A free two-day family program with community ofrendas, performances, a procession and activities in and around the Merry Go-Round building. The Sunday schedule runs from noon to 5:30 p.m.
- November Locals' Night. The theme is "Swiss Art + Sound." No date has been posted yet.
- Holiday Cheer, November 20 to December 18. Letters to Santa and crafts, Books & Cookies storytimes, and Bob Baker marionette shows on December 4, 11 and 18. It closes with a Sandy Cane Lane and Locals' Night finale on Friday, December 18. That's a Friday, not the usual third Thursday, so it's worth confirming the date closer to the event.
The Dogtown screening and the skate ramp fit the moment. Locals' Night is celebrating the Pier's own history in the season its best-known landmark goes away for repairs.
What comes back in late 2027
The replacement bridge will be 447 feet long and 39 feet wide. It will have a 15-foot sidewalk on the south side and is designed to last 75 years. It keeps one vehicle lane in each direction, on a 20-foot roadway shared by cars and bicycles. The cost rose with each delay. Officials estimated $8 million in 2010 and $29 million in 2022. In 2025, the City Council awarded Shimmick Construction Co. a contract worth up to $35,579,292. The federal Highway Bridge Program pays $30.2 million, about 75 percent. Local transportation sales tax money from Measures M and R and Proposition C covers the rest.
Completion is expected in December 2027, which officials say is "well ahead" of the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. From June through September 2027, crews will take down the temporary pedestrian bridge and vehicle ramp and restore the parking lot. After that, the restored 1941 sign goes back up over the entrance, about 10 feet north of where it stood and higher than before.
At LA Luxuries, we follow projects like the Pier Bridge closely, because detours, closures and timelines shape everyday life on the Westside for owners and seasonal residents alike. If you own or manage a Santa Monica home and want a quiet word on how the construction calendar affects your plans, Contact Us.
