Carmageddon: As Bethany Curve repairs begin, West Cliff draws closer to reopening

The long-awaited Bethany Culvert repairs have finally broken ground on Santa Cruz’s Westside, and while the project is not expected to be completed until the end of the year, the long-closed section of West Cliff Drive between Columbia Street and Woodrow Avenue will be open to one-way traffic in a matter of weeks.

Last week, the City of Santa Cruz started construction on the Bethany Curve culvert repair. The damage to the structure has shut down the stretch of West Cliff Drive between Woodrow Avenue and Almar Avenue to vehicle traffic in both directions for over a year.

The atmospheric rivers during winter 2023 severely damaged a number of locations along the iconic coastal road, causing the full or partial closure of several sections of West Cliff Drive. Since then, the city has worked to find ways to restore as much access as possible as quickly as possible.

While there will not be two-way traffic along the entirety of West Cliff Drive until at least the end of the year, when the Bethany Curve culvert repair is expected to be completed, the stretch between Columbia and Woodrow is likely to be open to westbound traffic by midsummer, said City of Santa Cruz Public Works Assistant Director Kevin Crossley. The work to repair that section is mostly complete, aside from a new metal railing along the pedestrian path. Crossley said the fence will be delivered in about a month, and will take two to three weeks to install.

Crossley added that a sinkhole by the pedestrian path in that same section is the “wild card,” as it could force the city to shut down a section of the pedestrian path for safety, thus delaying the reopening of the roadway. The city is currently working on a plan of attack.

“We would probably establish a temporary path that would run around the backside of the parking lot between the road and the parking lot,” he said. “Basically a limited path closure with a detour.”

The timeline for the Bethany Curve culvert repair has a few more moving pieces. Pacific Gas & Electric has begun cutting and relocating gas services to a few residences in the area, as the gas line currently runs along the road across the creek. There is also a utility pole in the construction zone that needs to be moved, but that process has not started yet. Crossley said public works is putting “maximum pressure” on the utility company to make it happen quickly.

“It’s not an imminent safety issue, so it becomes a secondary priority for them automatically,” he said, adding that public works has contacted multiple levels of leadership within PG&E to get the company to prioritize it. “There’s going to be a point in the project where we can’t proceed any further until they’ve moved their things out of the way.”

Crossley said the city is also working on another erosion site along the cliff and pedestrian path across the street from Lighthouse Field State Beach, next to the 20-minute parking lot. It is looking at a potential road realignment that would move part of the roadway away from the eroding coastline, which would mean moving it into some of the park area. 

However, if the city moves forward with that, it is expected to be a lengthy process that includes discussions with California State Parks, an environmental review, and plenty of public input. Crossley said it’s an exciting chance to be able to study the potential project and bolster the coastline for future generations, but knows it would be a difficult project.

“We talk about the term ‘managed retreat,’ and this is one of the rare opportunities we have to take a look at that,” he said. “We’re not just thinking about moving back from the existing area of erosion, but also thinking about what the 50- and 100-year erosion projections look like.”

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The Pure Water Soquel water purification project continues to move forward, and its current work will affect parts of Laurel Street in Santa Cruz. The installation of an architectural cover for the piping along the Laurel Street bridge will continue this week between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., shutting down one lane of eastbound Laurel Street.

Tree and utility work will cause one-lane traffic control on various sections of Highway 9 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. In these stretches, there will be one lane open with a traffic light controlling the flow of traffic in both directions. Those areas are the sections between Monaco Lane and the Camp Campbell entrance, Pike Road and Irwin Way, and Lorenzo Avenue and Upper Glen Arbor Road.

Bridge work on Highway 9 will also cause one-lane traffic control on two other sections from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be one lane open with a traffic light controlling the flow of traffic in both directions. The work will take place between Camp Sycamore Road and the Paradise Park exit and Henry Cowell Redwoods Vista Point and Glengarry Road.

The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency’s College Lake project will shut down one lane of traffic on Highway 129 between Bridge Street and Main Street, which will result in one-way traffic control from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from Monday through Friday until June 30. Travelers should expect delays of up to 15 minutes.

There will be a full overnight closure of southbound Highway 1 at 41st Avenue between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. from Sunday through Tuesday. Travelers will be directed off at the 41st Avenue exit, travel across the offramp, and rejoin Highway 1 at the 41st Avenue onramp to southbound Highway 1.

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