CAPITOLA — A Highway 1 overcrossing in Capitola will shut down for more than a year as planners continue with the next phase of a multimodal project along the county’s primary transportation corridor.
Beginning at 9 a.m. on Monday, March 11, the Capitola Avenue Highway 1 overcrossing will be closed to all vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic for approximately 14 months, according to a release from the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, which is the lead on the project. A detour, highlighted by message and direction signs, will be in place via Bay Avenue/Porter Street and Park Avenue.
The long-term closure will mark the beginning of an effort to demolish and rebuild the bridge, complete with bicycle lanes, and sidewalk improvements that connect to nearby schools, neighborhoods, parks, beaches and commercial centers. The commission also hopes the revamped infrastructure will promote the use of alternative transportation modes translating to improved transportation system capacity and reliability.
The new overcrossing, expected to reopen in the summer or fall of next year, is part of a larger project from the transportation commission to build auxiliary lanes and bus-on-shoulder improvements in both directions of the highway from Bay Avenue/Porter Street to State Park Drive interchanges, according to the release. The project will also include construction of a bicycle and pedestrian overcrossing at Mar Vista Drive.