San Luis approves second phase of Merrill Avenue improvements

San Luis moved ahead with the next stretch of Merrill Avenue improvements, a project city leaders tied directly to traffic flow, business access and long-term development on the west side of town.

The San Luis City Council approved the second phase using $640,742 in local leverage under the FY 2025-FY 2026 CDBG Regional Account program. City materials put Phase II on the corridor between County 22nd Street and Los Oros Street, with one hearing document describing it as a $750,000 Community Development Block Grant project. The work was framed as part of a broader effort to improve mobility for low- and moderate-income residents in San Luis and the nearby Los Oros subdivision.

The project followed an earlier commitment adopted on April 12, 2023, when the city set aside $614,496 for Merrill Avenue Street Improvements Phase I and $602,254 for Phase II as matching funds for state CDBG applications. Officials had said the full Merrill Avenue project would run from Merrill Avenue to the West Main Canal and from Los Oros Street to County 22nd Street, with construction originally expected to begin in July 2024 and finish by February 2025.

Phase I started in August 2024, according to the city, and focused on expanding the existing road while bringing the corridor into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Project details for that first phase included repaving a 48-foot-wide roadway with a center turn lane, 20-foot lanes in each direction and a 6-foot bike lane, along with curb, sidewalk, ramp and sewer-main repairs for sag and grade issues.

Phase II was designed to push that work farther west and east along the same artery, adding roughly 382 linear feet of 12-inch storm drain and manholes, sanitary sewer manhole repairs, about 7,913 square yards of pavement replacement and new curb, gutter, sidewalk and cross gutter work. The city had said the improvements were intended to help traffic move more smoothly, make the corridor safer and support future development in San Luis and the Los Oros area.

For west-side drivers, the payoff was expected to be a better-functioning Merrill Avenue with wider lanes, safer pedestrian access and fewer drainage and pavement problems. For nearby property owners and businesses, the real test was whether the work would improve access without shutting down the corridor longer than necessary, and whether the upgrades would match the city’s promise of a road built for growth rather than patchwork repairs.