The long-awaited Santa Cruz Avenue sidewalk construction project in Menlo Park is finally underway. Sidewalks are being built on the north side of Santa Cruz Avenue between Olive Street and Johnson Street, and on the south side between Olive Street and Arbor Road.
The sidewalks will be 6-feet wide and the project will have flashing pedestrian crosswalks, and new drainage systems so that there won’t be flooding or pooling in neighboring yards when it rains. The sidewalks will contain a 3-inch conduit to hold fiber optic cables in the future to monitor vehicular traffic.
After the project was approved by the City Council in March 2015, public works staff learned it would cost more than expected. Further funding was approved in June 2016. The latest cost estimate is $5.9 million.
Last August, the water provider in that area, California Water Service, stepped forward with plans to replace the 6-inch water main, which ran on one side of Santa Cruz Avenue, with a 12-inch main in the center of the street. That work had to be done first, so it delayed the sidewalk construction further.
Construction is occurring in four phases, according to city staff:
• Late February to early April: south side of Santa Cruz Avenue between Olive Street and San Mateo Drive
• Early April to mid-May: south side of Santa Cruz Avenue between San Mateo Drive and Fremont Street.
• Mid-May to mid-July: north side of Santa Cruz Avenue between Johnson Street and San Mateo Drive.
• Mid-July to late September: north side of Santa Cruz Avenue between San Mateo Drive and Olive Street.
The project is expected to be completed in late September.
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