Quick Take
A process spanning two decades looks to be finally coming to a head as the City of Santa Cruz readies to break ground on the Murray Street Bridge retrofit in the spring. Shimmick Construction was awarded a $45 million contract to perform the build.
The city is expecting to break ground in March on a major $50 million retrofit of the Murray Street Bridge that will add new bike lanes and pedestrian walkways, and also disrupt traffic on the major crosstown artery over the Santa Cruz Harbor for the next 2½ years.
In discussions since the 1990s, the project’s goal is to strengthen the bridge with additional pilings and an improved foundation so it can better withstand earthquakes. The city initially planned to start construction in October, but it took some time to negotiate a contract with Woodside-based Shimmick Construction, said City of Santa Cruz Public Works Director Nathan Nguyen.
“The larger the project is, typically, the more complex it is,” he said. “It does take a little bit more time to analyze, so we extended out the time to review the contract.”
The project involves a heavy amount of construction. Crews will install new piles, build new columns, widen the bridge deck and install new barrier rails. There will also be benefits for pedestrians and cyclists, as the bridge deck will introduce 6-foot bike lanes and a 7.5-foot sidewalk along the ocean side, allowing for a two-way pedestrian path. The city expects to finish the work by fall 2027.
With such a significant project about to begin on a major crosstown artery, commutes will be tougher. Nguyen said the plan is to maintain eastbound traffic “for a majority of the project,” but that the city does not yet have detailed plans on specific traffic control measures, such as lane closures and detours.
The city’s project webpage says the bridge might have to be closed entirely at certain periods of time due to moving equipment and setting up for different stages of construction. The harbor paths running underneath the bridge will also be closed occasionally.
The price tag for the entire project is expected to be about $50 million, with $45 million covering the construction contract and another $4 million to $5 million for construction management, the purchase of land required for the project and preliminary engineering work, which includes both design and environmental analysis.
Nguyen said that roughly $40 million of that total comes from federal grants. Despite concerns that the incoming Trump administration could decrease federal funding to California, Nguyen said he does not believe the support planned for the upcoming year from the Federal Highway Administration is in jeopardy, as it is already budgeted, but he added that there is still uncertainty about the future.
“No one knows where that might head for the current work that’s underway, whether it’s the Murray Street Bridge project or our West Cliff emergency response efforts,” he said. “We’re comfortable with the funding that’s in place today, but it’s really anyone’s guess at this point.”
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