A wealth of road repairs and upgrades around Santa Cruz County are underway, from mud and rock slip outs and roadway washouts, to resurfacing and road surface replacements.
Heavy storms and major flooding, from the start of the year into March, has forced engineers to realign some priorities while some jobs are falling into place according to long-drawn-up plans.
Patrice Theriot, principal engineer for the City of Watsonville, said one of the major jobs unfolding is the repaving of a section of Freedom Boulevard, from Alta Vista Avenue to Green Valley Road.
“Concrete work is still being completed with the addition of curb ramps in that section of Freedom,” she said.
The job will include multi-modal bike lanes, new curbs, sidewalks and gutters in places, a bus pullout at Atkinson Lane to align two new low-income housing projects there and more. Theriot added that the concrete work is slated to wind down by the end of June when crews will begin grinding down the existing road surface to make way for new asphalt.
“The work has to be done in phases,” Theriot said. “It looks like we’ll start in the southbound lanes and work from there.”
A new traffic signal is also in the plans for the intersection of Sydney Avenue at Freedom Boulevard. That work is on schedule to possibly wrap up by the end of June.
Additionally, a section of Bridge Street is also due for a new surface following underground water line work there between Blackburn and Beck streets that left rough areas of temporary patching along the heavily traveled corridor.
At the Watsonville City Council meeting Tuesday evening, Assistant Public Works Director and City Engineer Murray Fontes led a presentation about making a portion of Green Valley Road, between Harkins Slough Road and Freedom Boulevard, safer and more efficient. His talk covered traffic calming installations, reducing lane widths, improving bicycle safety, high visibility crosswalks, audio crossing aids, increased lighting and more.
“The purpose of this road when it was built over 50 years ago was to move traffic from one side of the city to the other,” he said. “And if it’s going to change, it needs to change its nature.”
Fontes spoke of speeding motorists and enforcement and other approaches to deter unsafe driving, among other things.
Repairs are set to begin on Freedom Boulevard on another project, the County of Santa Cruz Department of Community Development and Infrastructure announced recently. Pavement repairs will be performed on Freedom Boulevard from Erta Lane to Valencia Road, starting May 15, and will run through May 26, weather permitting. The section of road will be reduced to a single traffic-controlled lane between 8:30am and 4pm Monday through Friday. Traffic control measures will be in place.
Meanwhile, work is also underway on two highways in the Santa Cruz Mountains, highways 236 and 9, on top of a lengthy list of other weather-related repairs sprinkled around the map.
Kevin Drabinski, spokesperson for Caltrans, said Highway 236 is in full closure since May 8 and is expected to remain closed until mid-June to make permanent repairs to storm damage. Lower Highway 236 will be closed approximately seven miles north of its junction with Highway 9 in Boulder Creek.
Message and directional signs have been placed to alert travelers in advance of the closure.
Travelers intent on reaching Big Basin Redwoods State Park will travel to where Upper Highway 236 connects with Highway 9 at Waterman Gap and will continue south to reach the park entrance.
Updates on a more precise opening date will be provided as work progresses, Drabinski said.
Additionally, a full closure of Highway 9 at 0.8 miles south of Glengarry Road has been extended through May 22, Drabinski said. The job, which was initially scheduled to reopen May 15, includes repairs to cracks and slip outs in several spots.
The closure spans from Henry Cowell Redwoods Vista Point to Glengarry Road. Detour signages steer motorists to use Graham Hill Road. Up to 15 minutes delays can be expected.
For information on road closures throughout the county, visit cruz511.org.
