Santa Monica is giving its most iconic entrance a long-overdue refresh. The Pier Bridge is being replaced, not as a flashy reinvention, but as an essential upgrade to keep this gateway safe, beautiful, and easy to use for decades.
The City announced that construction is officially underway to replace and upgrade the 86-year-old Santa Monica Pier Bridge.
Why this project is happening:
The existing bridge dates to 1939 and has structural issues that don’t meet modern seismic and safety standards, which is why the plan is a full replacement (not a patchwork retrofit).
Just as important: this bridge is a core connection from Ocean Avenue and Colorado Avenue into the Pier.
What the new bridge is designed to improve:
This is a quality-of-life project, in the most practical sense.
Key upgrades called out by the City include:
- A new, seismically sound bridge built to serve for 75+ years
- A wider 15-foot sidewalk on the south side for more comfortable walking (and less pinch-point chaos)
- Improved pedestrian and vehicle access, with an emphasis on safety and accessibility
- Preserving the Pier’s existing character and scenic feel
Construction is expected to be completed before the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics, with a roughly two-year build window.
What residents will actually feel, day to day:
Once the dust settles, the “after” is the point:
- A calmer, clearer approach to the Pier
- More breathing room for pedestrians (especially on weekends)
- An entry experience that feels safer, more accessible, and simply more pleasant
How this can support home values:
When a city invests in the public realm, especially at a landmark used by millions of visitors, it tends to strengthen the fundamentals buyers care about: reliability, access, and quality of life. This project is explicitly about improving safety, accessibility, and visitor access while preserving the area’s visual character. Over time, improvements like these can make nearby neighborhoods feel more effortless to live in, which is exactly the kind of “soft advantage” that shows up in demand.
Protecting what makes Santa Monica great.
This is Santa Monica doing what it does best: protecting what people love, while making it work better. A more accessible, resilient Pier Bridge is less about change and more about a smoother, more beautiful everyday path to the ocean.
