Quick Take
Work originally scheduled to shut down Highway 1 in March is on track for this Saturday evening into Sunday evening, shutting down the freeway between the Park Avenue and Bay Avenue/Porter Street exits.
April 5 – The 24-hour closure of Highway 1 between the Bay Avenue/Porter Street and Park Avenue exits initially scheduled for March 23-24 but postponed due to inclement weather remains on track for this weekend.
On social media, Caltrans reminded Santa Cruz County travelers about the closure from 7 p.m. Saturday to 7 p.m. Sunday, during which the state transit agency will demolish the Capitola Avenue overcrossing. The demolition is part of a 14-month project to replace the bridge, with the rebuilt version to add bike lanes and wide sidewalks.
March 21 – Caltrans said Wednesday that it was canceling this weekend’s 24-hour closure of Highway 1 between the Bay Avenue/Porter Street and Park Avenue exits because of possible rain over the weekend. The agency did not give a date for the rescheduled highway closure and overpass demolition work but said it would not be the following weekend, March 30-31.
“This cancellation has been made out of an abundance of caution due to wet weather in the forecast,” the agency said in a news release announcing the postponement of work originally scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday to 7 p.m. Sunday. “The safety of the crews and the travelling public is of overriding importance.
The National Weather Service is forecasting that Santa Cruz County is likely to see rain in the afternoon or evening on Friday with the possibility of thunderstorms on Saturday and a chance of rain Saturday night into Sunday.
March 18 – Mid-County drivers have some commute adjustments to figure out for the next 14 months as crews begin building a new Capitola Avenue overcrossing over Highway 1 — but far more people will need to figure out their travel plans next weekend.
The overcrossing, slated to be closed through at least summer 2025, will add new bike lanes and wider sidewalks to the new bridge as part of the Highway 1 expansion project.
In order to start building that new bridge, crews need to demolish the current Capitola Avenue overcrossing. And in order to do that, a substantial stretch of Highway 1 is going to be closed for a full 24-hour period.
From 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 23, to 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 24, both directions of Highway 1 will be closed between the Bay Avenue/Porter Street and Park Avenue exits.
Capitola Mayor and District 2 county supervisor hopeful Kristen Brown, who also serves as Santa Cruz Metro board chair and Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission chair, said the section of Highway 1 in the project area is “one of the busiest in the county,” which highlights the need to complete the demolition within 24 hours. Because the area is so heavily traveled, drivers will experience significant delays.
Caltrans District 5 spokesperson Kevin Drabinski said Soquel Drive will serve as the main detour for both northbound and southbound travelers. Those heading north will get off Highway 1 at the Park Avenue exit and take Soquel Drive to Bay Avenue/Porter Street, where they can rejoin Highway 1. Southbound drivers will do the exact opposite.
Drabinski said the California Highway Patrol will assist with directing traffic, and that the agencies are notifying all emergency services and other organizations that often need to access the route.
“We have 10 days to continuously beat the drum to alert the public, and we hope to be able to reduce the element of surprise,” he said.
Drabinski added that the 24-hour period chosen for the closure is believed to be the stretch of time with the lowest traffic volume compared to other times of the week. Should wet weather conditions affect crews’ ability to demolish the overcrossing, they will delay the closure to another week during the same time frame.
Crews will demolish the bridge piece by piece, dropping chunks of the razed roadway onto the highway below, where they will lay steel plates to protect the pavement, said Jim Hovde, project manager with Granite Construction, who is heading the work. From there, trucks will haul the smashed pieces of bridge off the highway.
Hovde said the only risk to the schedule would be heavy traffic on the open parts of Highway 1 preventing work vehicles from getting to the site on time. In a worst-case scenario in which traffic is heavy enough to delay crews, Hovde has a backup plan.
If hauling trucks are delayed getting to the project site, crews have set up barriers around the shoulder, where they can place the rubble until it can be hauled away. That way, they can still fully reopen Highway 1 at 7 p.m. on March 24 even if hauling is not complete.
Despite the inconvenience, Brown said that when the project is done, she believes Mid-County residents will be pleased with the new amenities.
“I think the community is going to be really excited to see it, especially with its public art aspect, and how it’s going to enhance traffic, bicycle and pedestrian operations,” she said. “We’re really excited for what this is going to mean for us.”
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