01 Oct Shimmick Achieves Three Major Milestones on the City of Santa Cruz’s Murray Street Bridge Project
Completed utility, marine, and road-closure work clears the way for the project’s next phase.
Shimmick recently reached three connected milestones on the Murray Street Bridge Seismic Retrofit and Barrier Rail Project in Santa Cruz, California: commissioning a new 36-inch sanitary sewer force main, completing the project’s remaining in-water construction, and finishing the planned scope during the scheduled road closure so traffic could return to its previous route on September 28, 2026.
The project is strengthening and expanding the Murray Street Bridge to improve its resilience during future seismic events. One of the most significant challenges was an existing sewer force main located within the footprint of the new bridge foundations. The utility had to be relocated before critical pile driving and foundation work could proceed.
Aerial view of construction at Murray Street Bridge.
To maintain uninterrupted wastewater service, the team installed a temporary 24-inch HDPE bypass that carried flow while crews constructed and tested the new permanent force main alongside the bridge. After the new line passed hydrostatic testing and the final tie-in was completed, wastewater flow was transferred to the permanent system.
Completing the relocation cleared the way for the team to finish the project’s in-water marine construction, including pile driving and foundation work for the bridge expansion. The work was completed within the permitted in-water construction window, avoiding the risk of carrying critical activities into a future season.
Pile driving supports new foundations for the bridge.
The team also completed the work planned during the scheduled road closure on time. Traffic returned to its previous route across the bridge on September 28. This milestone does not mark completion of the full bridge project; it restores the traffic pattern while crews continue with the next phases of construction.
Each milestone required careful sequencing among utility, marine, structural, and traffic-control operations. The force main work included confined-space welding and inspection, specialized testing, detailed rescue planning, and close coordination among field crews, safety professionals, project partners, and specialty subcontractors.
With the new force main in service, in-water work complete, and traffic returned as scheduled, crews can continue advancing the bridge’s structural improvements, including upcoming column, pier cap, and precast girder work.