La Fonda Bridge Construction Finally Starting

Traffic crawled unusually slowly over the weekend as lanes were again shifted on Highway 1 at the La Fonda Bridge.

New lanes are being paved, walls going up, and the strange abutment sticking up from the middle of the freeway is coming down.

The new pavement will be quieter and more resistant to water, according to the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission.

"The new auxiliary lanes and shoulder area were paved with three layers of asphalt to ensure proper compaction and bonding to withstand anticipated traffic under all conditions. The final layer of asphalt has less filings (open graded) to allow cavities to form on the pavement surface that modestly reduce tire noise and significantly reduce up spray of water under wet conditions and improving driver visibility under rainy conditions," the agency wrote in a press release.

Further, it says, "The La Fonda Avenue overcrossing, which will be replaced to accommodate the auxiliary lanes under the bridge, will have bike lanes and a wider sidewalk for pedestrians.

"The project will install a raised crosswalk at the south end of the La Fonda Avenue Bridge near the entrance to Harbor High School, and construct sidewalks along Rooney Street and Morrissey Boulevard between Elk Street and San Juan Avenue. 

"The sidewalk work will feature a new product that reduces green house gases through the use of a partial cement replacement. The innovative product is made from industrial carbon dioxide, which would have otherwise been released into the atmosphere, and instead is permanently stored in a solid form in the concrete."

For a live view of the bridge, click here and look under Highway 1 east of Morrissey.