Demolition of La Fonda Bridge to Begin Monday Night

The La Fonda Bridge, at Highway 1 and Morrissey, will be demolished beginning on Monday night as a part of the Soquel to Morrissey Auxiliary Project.

Along with the widening of the highway between Soquel and Morrissey, the bridge will be reconstructed over the next six to eight months and will have bike lanes and wider sidewalks for pedestrians.

The Santa Cruz Regional Transportation Commission says that this stretch of Highway 1 "has historically been the busiest section in Santa Cruz County carrying over 100,000 vehicles per day and routinely operates at the worst Level of Service for 8 hours each weekday."

The demolition will cause a closure of the Highway on Aug. 6 and 7, and again on Aug. 13 and 14. Here is the schedule:

• Southbound , August 6 and 7 – All southbound lanes on the highway between the Morrissey and Soquel interchanges will be closed from midnight to 5 a.m. for both nights. The fast lane in the northbound direction will also be closed during these hours. Traffic will be diverted to Morrissey Boulevard and Soquel Avenue during the night closure hours.
• Northbound, August 13 and 14 – All northbound lanes on the highway between the Soquel and Morrissey interchanges will be closed from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. for both nights. The fast lane in the southbound direction will also be closed during these hours. Traffic will be diverted to Soquel Avenue and Morrissey Boulevard during the night closure hours.

For more information about the deconstruction process, click here.