West Cliff Drive opens to two-way traffic after reconstruction project
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) -- The city of Santa Cruz is marking a major milestone this week, with two-way traffic now restored to West Cliff Drive.
The iconic coastal road was severely damaged during winter storms over 2 years ago.
Dan Cunningham says he enjoys walking down West Cliff on his visits to Santa Cruz. “We've come over here several times from the time it washed out to you know, seeing all the construction stages, and it's nice to see it reopen.”
For the first time in years, cars could be seen driving in both directions down West Cliff Drive on Sunday.
The city announced that the road has been fully restored to pre-storm conditions.
People who live in the area are relieved to see the construction crews gone. “You had to go on Woodrow,” says Benjamin North. “You had to go like way, way around, and it was terrible. I love driving the whole length of Westcliff. It's a lot of fun, and it's great scenery.”
Hemang Vaidyf, who lives in the area, says, “Every time I pulled my car out, it was really tough to back out with cars going every which way till they blocked off some parking spots and so on, which helped, but it took a long time.”
With these traffic headaches in the rearview, locals are happy to see West Cliff coming back to life.
“Everything came out really looking nice and all the residents are happy,” says Kim Stoner, long-time Santa Cruz Resident. “The surfers are happy, the folks that live on Westcliff are happy. Now we've got our, what I call our 17-mile drive, which is only three miles long.”
Stoner says it was important for neighbors to keep the two-way traffic after talks of incorporating a bike-only path. That would have reduced West Cliff to one lane.
“Some people you know, they're either visiting for a short period of time, and they may have health issues and they can't ride their bike or walk, so they can drive by as well,” says Don Iglesias, who lives near the area. “It's been a long time, it has been two years.”In May, the city adopted a 5-year roadmap for West Cliff, the first step in a 50-year community vision.
Iglesias adds that the concern remains for another similar cliff erosion in the future, yet he's confident the city will continue to work with neighbors. “I mean, if the road were to wash out or something, yeah, the city will have to regroup and come up with a second plan,” said Iglesias.
The city of Santa Cruz is inviting community members to a special reopening event on August 15th. The reopening celebration will kick off at 5 pm and go on until 8 pm at Lighthouse Point, 701 West Cliff.
