By Jondi Gumz
The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission announces a groundbreaking Thursday, April 11, for the Highway 1 auxiliary lanes and bus on shoulder from Bay Avenue/Porter Street to State Park Drive and the Mar Vista freeway overcrossing for people on foot and bicyclists.
The groundbreaking will be at Resurrection Church,7600 Soquel Drive, Aptos.
This is the last part of a $94.2 million project aiming to reduce traffic congestion on Highway 1, which is the connector from for people traveling from Santa Cruz to Watsonville.
Funding sources are: $22.5 million from Measure D local sales funds and $76.3 million in state funds.
Goals are to:
- Provide a safe way for people on bikes and on foot to cross the freeway at Mar Vista Drive
- Provide a safe way for people on bikes and on foot to cross the freeway at Capitola Avenue
- Reduce neighborhood cut-through traffic by adding auxiliary lanes in the oft-congested section between Bay Avenue/Porter Street and State Park Drive
- Speed up bus travel, and double ridership, by allowing buses in the auxiliary lanes
One cautionary note: San Diego’s bus system, which started a 3-year bus on shoulder pilot program and pushed to increase ridership with the end of the Covid pandemic, but in 2023, there 226,345 weekday riders, up 10% from 2022. And a new $139 million battery electric rapid bus, expected to draw 4,500 riders, is attracting 1,500 daily riders; the goal is 12,000.
Locally, auxiliary lane construction on Highway 1 from 41st Avenue to Soquel Drive, the busiest stretch in the county with 100,000 vehicles a day, is well under way.
A new pedestrian overcrossing over the freeway is taking shape near Chanticleer Avenue.
This work is supported to be completed this year.
Demolition of the Capitola Avenue crossing, initially announced for March 23-24, was postponed due to rain in the forecast and rescheduled for April 6-7.
Detours are posted through the city of Capitola.