CAPITOLA — A Highway 1 overcrossing in Capitola will shut down for more than a year as planners continue with the next phase of a multimodal project along the county’s primary transportation corridor.
Beginning at 9 a.m. on Monday, March 11, the Capitola Avenue Highway 1 overcrossing will be closed to all vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic for approximately 14 months, according to a release from the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, which is the lead on the project. A detour, highlighted by message and direction signs, will be in place via Bay Avenue/Porter Street and Park Avenue.
Though the Capitola Avenue highway overcrossing remains open for now, crews have begun preparation work ahead of the announced March 11 closure. (PK Hattis – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
The long-term closure will mark the beginning of an effort to demolish and rebuild the bridge, complete with bicycle lanes, and sidewalk improvements that connect to nearby schools, neighborhoods, parks, beaches and commercial centers. The commission also hopes the revamped infrastructure will promote the use of alternative transportation modes translating to improved transportation system capacity and reliability.
The new overcrossing, expected to reopen in the summer or fall of next year, is part of a larger project from the transportation commission to build auxiliary lanes and bus-on-shoulder improvements in both directions of the highway from Bay Avenue/Porter Street to State Park Drive interchanges, according to the release. The project will also include construction of a bicycle and pedestrian overcrossing at Mar Vista Drive.
24-hour closure
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To give workers space and time to complete the demolition and haul materials away, a full closure of Highway 1 from Bay Avenue/Porter Street to Park Avenue will be instituted from 7 p.m. March 23 to 7 p.m. March 24, the local agency has noted.
During the closure, northbound highway travelers will exit at Park Avenue and move down Soquel Drive before rejoining the northbound highway via the Bay Avenue/Porter Street onramp, according to the release. Those heading southbound will be directed off at Bay Avenue/Porter Street to then navigate down Soquel Drive and back onto the highway at the Park Avenue onramp. Highway 1 is expected to then fully reopen to travel by 7 p.m. March 24.
However, officials have noted that the 24-hour closure and planned demolition are weather-dependent and any updates will be shared before March 23.
Joining the transportation commission as collaborators in the $79 million project are Caltrans, Santa Cruz County, the city of Capitola and Santa Cruz Metro. The contractor is Watsonville-based Granite Construction, according to the release, and the effort is expected to be completed sometime in 2026.
Last April, the commission broke ground on a similar auxiliary and bus-on-shoulder project stretching from Soquel Drive to 41st Avenue interchanges that also includes a new bicycle and pedestrian overcrossing at Chanticleer Avenue. That project is expected to be complete by late 2025.
The third section of the highway construction effort ranges from State Park Drive to Freedom Boulevard and, in addition to the same auxiliary and bus-on-shoulder work, includes construction of Segment 12 of the Coastal Rail Trail encompassing about 1.25 miles from State Park Drive to Rio Del Mar Boulevard.