Lane closures, delays to resume on Graham Hill Road next week

Motorists trying to leave the San Lorenzo Valley via Graham Hill Road might want to consider an alternate route when crews resume work to expand the roadway Monday, July 16.
Periodic lane closures will be common between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays as a 0.61-mile connection between new drainage sections is completed.
The $2.7 million expansion, which began last April, widens the road by 3 foot on each side, modernizes the road’s often-troubled drainage system and adds a 200-foot left-turn lane outside the main entrance to Roaring Camp Railroads.
Russ Albrecht, an engineer with Santa Cruz County Department of Public Works, said that much of the work on the steep incline was completed last year, and crews will shift their focus to building the turn pocket and connecting the finished sections of the drainage network.
 “We’ve got it built up top; we’ve got it built at the bottom; and now we’re building the in-between,” Albrecht said. “It will be off to the edge of the road, but one lane will definitely need to be closed.”
Albrecht said that when crews finish the drainage link, which will pass under the pavement in five places, they will start on the turn pocket.
While potential delays for motorists are predicted to continue until Nov. 9, Albrecht said he hoped the project would be in its final stages by then.
“We should be completely out of the creeks and waterways by Oct. 15,” he said. “We should be able to meet that deadline. We don’t want it to go into next year.”