Highway 1 Detours Start Monday

Traffic patterns on state Highway 1 just south of Watsonville near Salinas Road will change Monday when a new detour paralleling the highway will open.

This means that southbound traffic on Highway 1 will not have access to Salinas Road and will have to use the posted Hwy 129 detour to access Salinas Road. The detour will take cars off the highway and to the west of the area where the new Salinas overcrossing will be built.

About one week later northbound, drivers will not be able to turn onto Salinas Rd. Those drivers wishing to travel on Salinas Rd. will need to use the Riverside Dr. (Hwy 129) exit. This will cause a traffic increase and possible delays, especially around Main Street and Riverside Drive.

The road closure and detours are expected to last two to three weeks.

The $30 million project adds safety improvements to an intersection where Caltrans officials say there are a lot of accidents. It also is expected to reduce delays on Highway 1.

The first phase of the project is expected to last one week. The second phase of the detour will start about a week after the first.