Traffic at Bay Avenue and Highway 1 in Capitola is about to get a little more snarled.
As part of the auxiliary and bus-on-shoulder lane project that in April saw the demolition of the nearby Capitola Avenue overpass, the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission said in a news release Thursday that the on-ramp to southbound Highway 1 from Bay Avenue will close Sept. 29 for two months.
Per the RTC release, the closure will allow crews from contractor Granite Construction to adjust the elevation in line with the bus-on-shoulder lane. Workers will “partially excavate the existing onramp, correct the slope to accommodate the bus-on-shoulder feature, widen the mainline shoulder, as well as install drainage inlets, and complete electrical work and striping.”
It’s the latest work along a busy section of road that’s used by commuters, residents and students flowing to and from Soquel High School, New Brighton Middle School and Soquel Elementary School, all within a mile of Highway 1. The neighboring intersection of Bay Avenue and Hill Street recently got a number of safety improvements in the aftermath of the Nov. 18, 2023, death of resident Debra Towne in a hit-and-run accident.
A detour will take drivers north on Porter Street to Soquel Drive, then east to Park Avenue, where they can access southbound Highway 1; alternately, drivers can go south on Bay Avenue to Park Avenue, proceeding to southbound Highway 1.
In its release, the RTC says it expects the Bay Avenue Highway 1 on-ramp to reopen Nov. 29.
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