Quick Take
Work is still underway to repair multiple sections of West Cliff Drive following 2023 and 2024 winter storms. While several are expected to be completed by the end of the year, other more complicated work — including a potential road relocation along Lighthouse Field — is likely to be a two-year process.
Multiple projects aimed at repairing storm damage to West Cliff Drive are moving forward, with some expected to be completed by the end of the year, and others looking at a timeline of up to two years. All road repairs might not be fully complete until at least 2026.
At last Tuesday’s Santa Cruz City Council meeting, city Public Works Director Nathan Nguyen gave an update on a busy end of the year for work on the coastal road and big projects set to begin in the next two calendar years related to damage from storms last year and early this year.
Repair of the section of road between Columbia Street and Woodrow Avenue is down to two final steps: new railing for the ocean side of the pedestrian path, and native vegetation restoration along the exposed dirt near the edge of the path. That stretch of road has been closed to two-way traffic for more than 18 months. Nguyen added that public works has been waiting on the railing for about four months, but said he hopes crews can begin installing it this week.
Additional damage sustained to that same stretch of road this year has complicated the work – most notably, a sinkhole opened up within the construction staging area. Nguyen said that this has been filled, and the repair should be fully completed by October. He added that a retaining wall not far from the sinkhole sustained additional damage as well, and the city’s public works design team is working with the California Coastal Commission on a fix. He estimated that the repair will be implemented by November.
Nguyen moved on to the area just west of Woodrow Avenue, which he said “sustained the most damage in the January 2023 event.” The biggest project in that area is the Bethany Curve culvert repair currently in progress. It’s on schedule and should be finished in November.
“We elevated the roadway roughly 18 inches, and we also lengthened the seawall to provide more resilience,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen added that a damaged site west of Bethany Curve received more damage early this year, and crews have also found a sea cave that extends a significant distance under the roadway. He described that site as “a much more challenging area,” as crews continue to try to figure out how to fill the cave. Repairs there will likely not begin until spring 2025, as the city is still working with the California Coastal Commission on a design. That means West Cliff Drive between Woodrow Avenue and David Way will not be ready for reopening this year.
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“Even though we have Bethany Curve slated for completion by the end of this year, we’ll have to really track and monitor what the different site conditions allow us to do as far as reopening the roadway,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen looked toward summer 2026, when a road relocation project could be completed. Erosion opposite Lighthouse Field has prompted the city to look into a possible road relocation that would entail shifting the roadway into part of Lighthouse Field. Nguyen added that the city has been working with California State Parks on a right-of-way acquisition, and would require a bidding process for contractors, too. That makes the timeline much longer.
“That means it’s likely this site would be exposed this winter and potentially next winter as well,” he said.
Of course, that means more traffic control measures. Nguyen said the city is considering using either stop signs or traffic signals to allow for two-way traffic along one lane of road, should erosion worsen, or diverting traffic along Pelton Avenue along the north side of Lighthouse Field.
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Check out our Carmageddon road delay list here. This week, pay particular attention to:
- Shoulder work will shut down alternating lanes at various sections of Highway 9 between 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Wednesday. Those sections are between upper Glen Arbor Road and Route 9, Main Street and Route 9, Fillmore Avenue and Route 9, and Hillside Avenue/Miles Street and Mill Street.
- Repaving of a 4-mile stretch of Highway 1 between the Buena Vista Drive bridge in Watsonville and the Rio Del Mar Boulevard bridge in Aptos began July 28. It will cause intermittent overnight single-lane closures of northbound Highway 1 on Sundays from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. and Mondays through Thursdays from 7:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. Overnight single-lane southbound closures will be from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Sundays and 8:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Mondays through Thursdays.
- Through the end of 2024, various sections of Soquel Drive between State Park Drive and Paul Sweet Road could be reduced to one lane of traffic as the Soquel Drive Buffered Bike Lane and Congestion Mitigation Project moves forward — which includes new bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, adaptive traffic signals, and updated sidewalks and curbs. The sections of road will be intermittently closed as work continues at multiple sites. Specifically, look out for intermittent single lane closures between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
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