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# Roger that: County antes up for beach upkeep
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/roger-that-county-antes-up-for-beach-upkeep/
- Published: 2005-11-10T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T08:08:06.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Environment, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Beaches and bike paths open amid construction*

*By JASMIN PERSCH Special to the Daily Press*

Board of Supervisors greet rising construction costs with additional funding WILL ROGERS BEACH — Showing they seldom met a beach they didn’t like, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors are prepared to shell out nearly $12 million in order to refurbish the entire stretch of this well known coastline.

Construction on the rejuvenated parking lots and improved facilities is slated to begin in early January and be completed by March 2007, according to Paul Wong, division chief of asset management and planning bureau of the Department of Beaches and Harbors.

Some existing buildings won’t weather the gussying up, however, with four bathrooms, a concession building and a lifeguard substation due to be torn down. The lame duck facilities don’t meet building codes, so new red-tile topped structures finished in stucco will rise in their stead, Wong said.

“We have limped along with these buildings (for some time),” said spokeswoman Dusty Crane of the Department of Beaches and Harbors.

According to Wong, the lifeguard headquarters building that dates back to the World War II era will remain on the beach, but will be expanded to accommodate the number of people who flock to the bustling beach. Five parking lots and the main entrance of Temescal Canyon Road will be also be spruced up.

The buildings will all finally be handicap accessible once construction is complete, Crane said.

Just two weeks ago, the Board of Supervisors agreed to pump $4.7 million more into the project, bringing total project costs to $11.6 million. The Board had previously approved the budget at $6.9 million, to be financed by Safe Neighborhood Parks Propositions of 1992 and 1996.

A loan will cover $1.2 million of the additional $4.7 million allotment, while the county will cover the rest.

“Construction prices have gone up, so that’s why we went back to get more money,” Crane said.

Inflation has pushed construction budgets up by 4 percent, on average, said Joel Bellman, spokesman for County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.

“We want to get it (the construction project) done and want to get it right,” he said.

According to Wong, another reason for the additional funding was the need to seismically retrofit the buildings.

While construction may be ongoing for more than two years, beachgoers aren’t being urged to steer clear.

“There will always be public access to the beach,” Wong said.

Bike trails will also remain open, though rerouting is likely.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 10, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/111005.pdf?ref=smdp.com)