The next step in the $79 million Highway 1 project to add bus and shoulder on auxiliary lanes is demolition and reconstruction of the Capitola Avenue overpass with bike lanes and sidewalks, starting in March.
As of March 11, the Capitola Avenue overcrossing will be inaccessible for 14 months during preparations for demolition with detours via Bay Avenue/Porter Avenue and Park Avenue.
On Saturday and Sunday, March 22 and 23, Highway 1 will be completely closed for the demolition, starting at 7 p.m. Saturday and reopening at 7 p.m. Sunday. Traffic will be detoured to Bay Avenue/Porter Street and Park Avenue and Soquel Drive.
This 24-hour closure is needed so crews can complete the demolition and haul debris away.
Message and directional signs will be posted.
These scheduled work dates, which come before an earlier than usual Good Friday and Easter, depend on weather.
Updates are to be provided in case of inclement weather.
The contractor, Granite Construction of Watsonville, expected to finish the project in 2026.
One more component of the project: Build a bicycle/pedestrian overcrossing on Highway 1 at Mar Vista Drive in Aptos. The start date has not been announced.
The new Capitola Avenue overcrossing, expected to open in the summer/fall of 2025, will have bike lanes and sidewalks for use by people on foot or bicycle to access schools, parks, beaches, and businesses.
Photo Credit: Jondi Gumz
Another component is construction of a pedestrian and bicycle overcrossing on Highway 1 near Chanticleer Avenue in MidCounty. That project is well underway, with the frame already in place,
The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, which has championed this project, believes that promoting the use of alternative transportation modes will increase transportation system capacity and reliability.
The RTC is leading completion of this project in partnership with Caltrans, the County of Santa Cruz, City of Capitola, and the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District.
The project is funded by 2016 Measure D funds and RTC discretionary funds that used to complete prep work necessary to ready the project for construction.
Construction is being led by Caltrans and is fully funded through a combination of Measure D and Senate Bill 1 Solutions to Congested Corridors and Local Partnership Program grant funds.
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For updated project information, see: https://sccrtc.org/projects/streets-highways/hwy1/bayporter-statepark/.
Top Photo courtesy of Google Maps