As Murray Street Bridge project breaks ground, harbor businesses worry about impact

Businesses in the Santa Cruz Harbor are getting increasingly anxious about the disruption that three years’ worth of construction on the Murray Street Bridge will bring to the area, as work on the major crosstown artery finally breaks ground Monday.

In the works since the 1990s, the Murray Street Bridge retrofit seeks to strengthen the structure against earthquakes by adding pilings and a better foundation. Crews will also install a new bridge deck with 6-foot-wide bike lanes and a 7½-foot-wide sidewalk along the ocean side of the bridge, creating a two-way pedestrian path.

Starting Monday, construction on the bridge is expected to disrupt traffic through at least January 2028, when the work is slated to wrap up. The City of Santa Cruz expects the westbound lane – toward Seabright – to remain closed to both drivers and cyclists for the duration of the project. The eastbound lane will stay open, save for two full closures of the bridge — one for 4½ months that could begin as soon as June or as late as November, and the second for three months in early to mid-2026.

But even with one lane open during most of the project, business owners at the harbor said any road work tends to cause snowballing effects on traffic in the area.

“Any time there’s a traffic interruption in that area, the smallest thing can turn into a giant problem,” said Dan Agostinis, general manager of Johnny’s Harborside restaurant, recalling that businesses next to to the project zone saw a noticeable loss of customer parking from the yearlong project that installed the roundabout at the intersection of 5th Avenue and East Cliff Drive. Coincidentally, that same roundabout will be the site of an emergency sewer replacement project throughout this week, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day.

“A lot of businesses down there were feeling the pinch from having limited or no parking for their customers and I kind of see the same thing happening” at the harbor, Agostinis said.

Hans Haveman, co-owner of H&H Fresh Fish Co., was also worried about what the construction will mean for business at his main storefront in the Santa Cruz Harbor. “I think it’s going to be really, really hard for people to get to my shop, period,” he said. 

Businesses down the street in the Seabright neighborhood are also feeling the jitters.

Patrice Boyle, owner and founder of La Posta restaurant on Seabright Avenue, estimates about 20% of her customer base comes from the east side of the bridge: “I’ve spoken with people who jokingly said, ‘See you in three years!’”

Boyle said many customers have told her that they will not stop coming, but she still believes that the project will make it very difficult for customers east of the bridge to get to her restaurant.

Haveman also said that he feels that business owners haven’t been taken into consideration enough with the planning of the project, as “it could devastate my business.”

Others aren’t so pressed. Lexi Stewart, events manager for the Crow’s Nest restaurant, said the business is letting customers and visitors know of the construction and detours.

“The bridge project will benefit customers and keep people safe,” she said. “Things happen, and we just have to work around them.”

City of Santa Cruz Director of Public Works Nathan Nguyen acknowledged the “incredible amount of impacts” the project brings to the area, and said that the city has stayed in communication with the Santa Cruz Port District both on construction details and how the project might affect businesses.

He said he heard worries from nearby business owners at last week’s community meeting about the project, and said the city is planning follow-up meetings with them to “see how we can help minimize the impacts and encourage economic activity.” Nguyen said the city is aiming to set those meetings up within the next few weeks. 

“This project itself has had its share of false starts, but it is happening,” he said. “Now is the time where we’re trying to work with those businesses to see how we can promote and keep customers coming down to what I think is a really great part of our city.”

Nguyen said he imagines additional signage to help people navigate the project area and to indicate that the businesses are open during the project’s duration, but beyond that, the city will need to meet with the owners before deciding what else to do. He stopped short of saying that the city could provide financial support.

Haveman said he would prefer that the city close the bridge entirely to finish the work in a shorter period of time instead of the partial closure planned for the next three years. 

“Everybody I’ve talked to would much rather bite the bullet and suffer for a year rather than have to suffer for three years,” he said.

Nguyen said a full bridge closure might give crews more flexibility on what kind of work to do when, but it wouldn’t necessarily save a lot of time. He added that the city could consider more closures or restrictions “if it can reduce the risk of delivering the project.”

Meanwhile, business owners have already been telling their customers about the coming changes. Boyle said staff have been giving customers a heads-up when they’re dining at the restaurant, and she plans to send out an email to others about the road work. She said she will be meeting with city officials soon to discuss how else they can support businesses in and around the project area.

And Agostinis said he’s planning to get inventive — and maybe even use the inevitable traffic jams to his advantage.

“I have a busboy who is happy to get into a fish suit and dance for people, I’m not joking,” he said. “We’re really thinking of catchy, quirky, creative signs to the effect of ‘You could be stuck in traffic, or you could be eating a taco.’”

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