At the top of Colorado Avenue, the blue neon arch that has framed the Pier entrance since 1941 is gone. Crews took it apart in stages starting October 20. They pulled the neon tubing first, lifted off the crown the next day, and removed the main section that Friday, a day late after the rigging took longer than planned. Westside Current reported that the sign left for Nevada on Monday, October 26.
The photo spot moved onto the deck. A half-scale replica now stands on the left side of the Pier just before Pier Burger, with the Pacific Park roller coaster and the shoreline behind it. Moving the sign onto the deck fits the bigger change this winter. Until the new bridge is built, people reach the Pier from the beach side and from the south, and the Ocean Avenue gateway is a work zone.
The Postcard Moved Onto the Deck
The sign is listed on the California Register of Historical Resources. The city's October 30 construction update confirmed it has arrived safely in Las Vegas. At YESCO's secure facility, the company that restored the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign will repair the neon tubing, remove rust, repaint the sign and its supports, and make structural repairs. According to the city's October 19 announcement, the sign will stay in storage there while the bridge work goes on.
When it comes back, it won't be exactly where it was. The city plans to mount the restored sign slightly higher on the new bridge, so it is easier to see and gives vehicles more clearance underneath. That release puts completion of the bridge project by 2028, in time for the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
In the same release, Mayor Caroline Torosis said the temporary sign "will continue to offer visitors the opportunity to capture that quintessential Santa Monica Pier moment." That moment now happens out on the deck, just before Pier Burger, rather than at the Ocean Avenue entrance.
The Front Door Is Now 30 Feet South
The change that matters for a regular walk opened back in June. A temporary pedestrian bridge about 30 feet south of the old pedestrian entrance is now the Pier's primary entrance, and the entrance facing Ocean Avenue closed once it opened. The city's June 5 release describes artwork, wayfinding signs, and features on Pier businesses along the new bridge.
Here are the ways onto the deck, depending on how you arrive:
| Arriving by | Way onto the Pier | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Foot from Ocean Avenue | Temporary pedestrian bridge | Primary entrance, about 30 feet south of the old one |
| Foot from the sand | Ocean Front Walk | Stays open during construction |
| Car, from the Pier lot | Protected walkway along the temporary vehicle ramp | The ramp is on the Pier's southwest side |
| Bike, skateboard, scooter | Seaside Terrace | Not allowed on the temporary pedestrian bridge |
| Stroller or wheelchair | Elevator at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., 301 Santa Monica Pier | Runs during the restaurant's hours |
| Accessible parking | East-side ramps near 1640 Appian Way | Ramps lead up to the deck |
The stairs near Bubba Gump are another way up from below. The bike rule is the one most likely to catch a regular off guard: the habit of rolling straight in off Ocean Avenue doesn't work for the length of the project.
Why Ocean and Colorado Stay Loud Through December
The new entrance stays in use because the old bridge is still being torn out and the new one is going up in the same spot. The city's October 30 construction update lays out the next steps on the city's schedule, all of them forecasts:
- The rest of the existing Pier Bridge is to be demolished by mid-November.
- Drilling and shoring for the new bridge's foundation, already underway near the Colorado and Ocean intersection, should wrap up in late November.
- Crews have started pouring the above-ground columns. The new bridge sits on 13 concrete columns, all expected to be done by late December.
Most of this work runs Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with demolition starting later in the morning. The city warns that demolition and shoring can be loud, with vibration during some tasks. A weekday morning walk past Palisades Park toward the Pier will sound like a construction site for the rest of the year, while late afternoons and weekends should be much quieter.
The Ocean and Colorado intersection is also getting traffic signal changes this week, scheduled through Friday, November 6, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The full signal outages were set for Tuesday and Wednesday, with traffic officers directing cars, so the rest of the week should mean slower crossings rather than dark lights. Through all of it, the city says the Pier and the Ocean Front Walk businesses stay open.
According to the city's project timeline, bridge construction runs from October 2026 to August 2027, and the city says that schedule may change. For the months ahead, the routes in the table above are how people get onto the Pier.
Arriving by Car Now Means Arriving From PCH
Drivers face the same shift. The Colorado Avenue vehicle ramp from Ocean Avenue is closed to traffic, and the Moomat Ahiko Way on- and off-ramps to Pacific Coast Highway have been closed since late September for demolition. The Pier and beach parking lots are open and reached from PCH.
When the city announced the Moomat Ahiko closure, it sent southbound PCH drivers to the California Incline or to eastbound I-10 and Lincoln Boulevard. Drivers on Ocean Avenue headed for PCH should keep going north to the California Incline. That release called it a roughly two-month closure starting as early as September 28, which would put its end around late November.
For parking, the Santa Monica Pier Corporation lists the Pier parking deck as open Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. It also points to Beach Lot 1 North, Beach Lot 4 South at 2030 Ocean Avenue, and the downtown public structures, including Parking Structure 8 at 1555 2nd Street. For rideshare, the Pier Corporation suggests the drop-off at 1550 Appian Way by the beach, where stairs and accessible ramps lead up to the deck.
Each of these options brings you onto the Pier from below or from the south.
The Winter Village Is the First Big Test of the New Route
That access matters more than usual this month, because the Pier is about to host its biggest new seasonal event in years. The Swiss Winter Village opens on the Pier Event Deck on Wednesday, November 18, and runs through January 3, 2027. Time Out reported that it will have food, crafts, skating, Santa visits and workshops.
The organizer's event page lists more than 60 chalets and an ice rink, plus these details:
- Address: 200 Santa Monica Pier, all ages
- Opening night: November 18, 5 to 11 p.m.
- Regular hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, with special hours on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve
- Tickets: bundles listed from $18.90 for the family bundle and $20.90 for entrance plus skating, up to $39.90 with a ride and $64.90 with rides and food
- Children 3 and under: free
The weekday construction hours end at 1:30 p.m., and the village opens at 11 a.m., so weekday visits in late November will overlap the noisiest stretch of foundation and column work. Evening visits come after the crews have left. Either way, getting to the chalets this season means one of the routes in the access table, with the temporary pedestrian bridge as the main entrance.
South of the Pier, the Sand Is Being Rebuilt Too
The beach-side approach has needed repairs of its own. Over Labor Day weekend, Hurricane Marie stripped sand south of the Pier, pushing the high-tide line 96 feet inland of the Ocean Way Festival's planned fire lane. Runoff from the Pico-Kenter storm drain outfall also cut a channel across the south end of the festival site. In its September 17 update, the city said the damage left no safe space to build the festival, and the event was canceled.
Public Works crews have been moving sand to the Pico-Kenter area, regrading it, and building a protective berm along the water's edge. They are also opening and maintaining all five beach storm drains ahead of the El Niño winter the city expects, so runoff reaches the ocean without cutting new channels across the sand. The city says the beach is open and safe for everyday use and that the Pier was never damaged or closed.
That work connects to the next big date on the Pier's calendar. ESPN plans to base its Super Bowl LXI coverage in Santa Monica, with daily programming live from the Pier starting Monday, February 8, 2027, and free fan events in the days before the February 14 game at SoFi Stadium. The Ocean Way Festival with Goldenvoice is planned to return in 2027, with dates still to come.
If you'd like to talk through what a long public works project like the Pier Bridge means on the blocks near Ocean Avenue and Colorado, from construction schedules to traffic to timing, Joe Madge at Madge & Hamilton Group is glad to share a practical, construction-minded view. Let's Connect.
