Starting Monday, a pipeline project along a nearly 4-mile stretch of Graham Hill Road between Santa Cruz and Felton will disrupt traffic for longer this summer, as the Santa Cruz Water Department extends the hours for a one-way traffic closure.
One-way traffic on Graham Hill Road between Sims Road and the 4600 block of Graham Hill Road will extend from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. until Aug. 6 as the Newell Creek Pipeline relocation continues. Previously, construction was confined to 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Widening the window of work takes advantage of San Lorenzo Valley School District’s summer break, according to the Santa Cruz Water Department.
The pipeline work will happen only two days per week; crews will spend other days trenching, asphalt grinding, backfilling and paving.
Damage from winter storms, which cut off Loch Lomond Reservoir from 98,000 customers briefly in 2023 and in 2017, spurred the effort to relocate nearly 4 miles of pipeline under Graham Hill Road between Scotts Valley and Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. The project also allows the Santa Cruz Water Department to share water with other districts and accept transfers from Scotts Valley Water District and Soquel Creek Water District.
Started in March, the project was expected to take 18 months and cost $29 million.
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