If you live on Seabright and drive across to the Crow's Nest for dinner, how do you get home?
Since Monday, Sept. 28, the answer has been a long one. The City of Santa Cruz reopened the Murray Street Bridge to one lane of eastbound traffic only, after a full closure that began June 10. Heading east toward the East Harbor and Live Oak, the trip works almost the way it used to. Heading west toward Seabright means a loop inland, and the city says this setup will hold "for most of the remainder of the project," which runs to January 2028.
So for the next year or more, the neighborhood has a one-way door. Nearly everything the harbor is offering this fall, including the free water taxi, the free parking on Seabright Avenue and a holiday passport game, is aimed at the westbound trip the bridge no longer handles.
What the Bridge Carries in Each Direction
The rules depend on how you're traveling. This is the city's current access guidance, last updated Sept. 28, 2026:
| How you're traveling | Eastbound | Westbound |
|---|---|---|
| Driving | One open lane | Detour via 7th Ave., Soquel Ave. and Seabright Ave. |
| Biking | Cyclists may use the full lane | Dismount and walk your bike on the bridge sidewalk, or ride 7th Ave., across Arana Gulch/Broadway, then Seabright Ave. |
| Walking | Bridge open to pedestrians | Bridge open to pedestrians |
| Under the bridge | West Harbor Access Road open | East Harbor Access Road and West Harbor stairs closed |
The walking detours matter most if you cut through the harbor on foot. With the East Harbor Access Road closed, the city routes people along Eaton St. and 7th Ave. to the Brommer St. entrance of the Upper Harbor. With the stairs from Murray Street down to lower West Harbor closed, the detour runs along Atlantic Ave., Seabright Ave. and Murray St. The city posts separate detour maps for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
The noise should also ease soon. The second round of pile driving was scheduled from June 15 through October 2026, during construction hours of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. According to the city's reopening announcement, the in-water work is finished, so the remaining work above the waterline no longer needs the large crane that forced the full closure.
Why the Westbound Trip Gets the Attention
The bridge has cost Lower Seabright business since well before this summer. Before the June closure, La Posta owner Patrice Boyle told the Santa Cruz Sentinel that Lower Seabright had been "practically a ghost town" during the 2025 construction. She added that La Posta's reservation-driven dinner business held up better than shops that rely on walk-ins. In August 2025, Good Times reported that Betty Burgers' Seabright revenue was down 20% while one lane was closed. Once the bridge closed fully, it was down 38% against the previous summer. In the same story, Tramonti partner Eric Taillan said few customers will drive across town through traffic for one business.
That remark explains the current setup. A one-way bridge makes the east side easy to reach and the west side harder to come back to. Every program below is a way of lowering the cost of that return trip.
The Water Taxi Is the Free Westbound Crossing
The Santa Cruz Port District's free inner-harbor water taxi normally runs in summer on weekends and holidays. To make up for the bridge, the city says the taxi may also run as needed in fall, on holidays or during special events. This October it's on the Harbor Water Taxi calendar every weekend:
- Fridays, Oct. 23 and 30: 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
- Saturdays and Sundays, Oct. 24, 25 and 31: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
It stops at three points, X-1 Gate, AA Dock and the Launch Ramp, and visitor parking for passengers is in the north harbor near X Dock. The Port District's harbor directory includes a water taxi map showing every stop, so you can see which one is closest to where you're starting and where you're headed before you cross.
The calendar shows no service yet for November or December. The Port District updates it month to month as extra service is confirmed, so check it before you plan around it after Halloween.
Getting Around on Land
If you drive to Seabright, the city is offering free two-hour parking at the Seabright Avenue meters while construction continues. That covers dinner at La Posta, 538 Seabright, or a slice at Engfer Pizza Works, 537 Seabright, directly across the street.
If you don't drive, there's METRO's Seabright Shuttle, which uses ParaCruz vans. The city's project page lists it as curb-to-curb service, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. It picks you up at home and takes you to the nearest bus stop, or brings you from a bus stop to a Seabright destination. When METRO launched it in January 2026, it said trips are free when they connect to or from a regular METRO bus route, and riders book through ParaCruz by phone or app. Confirm the current hours with METRO before you count on it.
Harboropoly Gives You a Reason to Make the Loop
The Port District has brought back Harboropoly, a holiday campaign that covers the harbor itself plus businesses along lower Seabright and 7th Avenue. You dine, shop and explore, then collect proof of purchase and free activity stamps as you go.
- Runs: Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2026
- Entries due: 11:59 p.m., Dec. 31, 2026
- Raffle drawing: Jan. 8, 2027
Because the game counts the west side and the east side equally, a full card means crossing the harbor both ways. The Explore Seabright & the Harbor directory has the full roster. On the Seabright side it includes Betty Burgers at 505 Seabright, Brady's Yacht Club at 413 Seabright, Java Junction, Tramonti, Seabright Deli, Hold Fast Lounge and Linda's Seabreeze Café. Around the water it lists Aldo's Harbor Restaurant, Johnny's Harborside Cafe, Kayak Connection, SUP Shack Santa Cruz and The Crow's Nest.
The Next Seven Weeks on the Water
The harbor's calendar puts most of its events right where the water taxi runs.
Haunted Harbor, Saturday, Oct. 24, 3 to 6 p.m. Kids trick-or-treat at participating harbor businesses, and a themed water taxi runs the inner harbor. The event listing puts free taxi service at 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. that day.
Wednesday Night Sailboat Races, through October, 6:30 to 8 p.m. That leaves Oct. 28 for one last evening watching the fleet.
Line dancing at the Crow's Nest, Friday, Nov. 6. It's on the Explore Seabright event list.
The 39th Lighted Boat Parade, Saturday, Dec. 5, 5:30 p.m., rain or shine. The Santa Cruz Yacht Club puts about 50 decorated power and sailboats through the harbor, with hot drinks and snacks at spots around the south harbor. With the East Harbor Access Road still closed, plan your viewing spot and your route home before you go.
What Reopens, and When
The one-way setup is the long middle stretch of the project. These are the city's next milestones, which it says may change:
- February 2027: The East Harbor Access Road under the bridge is scheduled to reopen. The bridge also closes fully for one week that month.
- May 2027: The West Harbor stairs from Murray Street to lower West Harbor are scheduled to reopen.
- First half of 2027: Intermittent closures of the west harbor access path are expected, followed by intermittent closures of the east path in the second half.
- December 2027: The bridge closes fully for two weeks.
- January 2028: The project is scheduled to be finished.
The city's page has one inconsistency. An older paragraph about harbor impacts still says the east path will reopen later than February 2026, with no new date. The access guidance updated Sept. 28 gives February 2027 as the schedule.
Construction started in January 2025, and the project is estimated at $50 million. Murray Street is the last bridge in Santa Cruz that hasn't been brought up to modern seismic standards. The city's other bridges were retrofitted in the early 2000s. When it's done, the bridge will have 6-foot bike lanes and a 7.5-foot two-way sidewalk on the ocean side. See-through railings will replace the solid concrete barriers, which opens up views of the harbor and the ocean. A new, larger County sewer force main serving Live Oak, Capitola, Soquel and Aptos is also going in as part of the work. The north-side section of that sewer main is already finished.
If you own a home near the harbor and want to know how a construction year shows up in your home's value, Genie Lawless can walk you through what's selling around Seabright and the East Harbor right now. Start with a free home valuation, and we'll go over it together.
