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Highway 1 set to reopen near Pajaro River

Highway 1 near the Pajaro River flooded on Sunday, March 12, and caused the roadway to be closed. Caltrans crews expected that portion of Highway 1 to be fully open by March 16.
California Highway Patrol
/
Santa Cruz Office
Highway 1 near the Pajaro River flooded on Sunday, March 12, and caused the roadway to be closed. Caltrans crews expected that portion of Highway 1 to be fully open by March 16.

A section of Highway 1 between Santa Cruz and Monterey is set to reopen. It had been closed at the Pajaro Bridge since Sunday.

Highway 1 is the main corridor between the Monterey Peninsula and Santa Cruz. It was closed over the weekend after engineers became concerned about the embankments around the bridge.

At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Caltrans spokesperson Kevin Drabinski announced that engineers are confident the bridge is safe.

"Our structural engineers were able to complete their assessments and reported that those bridges can safely accommodate traffic without any restrictions," Drabinski said.

Southbound lanes will reopen Wednesday evening. Northbound lanes will open Thursday morning.

Drabinski added this doesn't mean there won't be more work on the bridge. "We'll continue to have to have construction crews on the bridge addressing that and restoring the soil under those bridge supports."

No date for when that construction will begin. "The opening of Highway one is a small but important part of this recovery," Drabinski said. "We're hoping that it takes some traffic volume off of the surrounding regional roads."

There are still Highway 1 closures in Big Sur, so Wednesday's announcement is just the beginning of Caltrans' long road back to normal.

Doug joined KAZU in 2004 as Development Director overseeing fundraising and grants. He was promoted to General Manager in 2009 and is currently retired and working part time in membership fundraising and news reporting at KAZU.