Highway 1 beach bypass

In 1955, a new section of road called the Highway 1 beach bypass began construction, perpendicular from the end of Highway 17 to Mission Street, aiming to improve highway traffic flow through Santa Cruz by creating a new section of Highway 1 to "bypass" the downtown area. In December of 1955, concrete pilings for a new bridge over the San Lorenzo River were in place but not yet held together by a roadway above, and so were damaged by the 1955 San Lorenzo River flood, and had to be rebuilt. Completed over the next couple of years, the bypass was not completed until November, 1958, when the last section of new freeway was completed, from Morrissey Boulevard to where the ends of Hwy. 17 and Ocean Street join, connecting to those roads and to the already completed section of the bypass via a complicated interchange known as the "fish hook". After crossing the river on a bridge, the bypass transitions the Hwy. 1 freeway to a 4-lane surface street, with a 4-way traffic light at River Street, before curving around to end at Mission Street. From the end of the bypass, Highway 1 continues to the city limit on 4-lane Mission Street.

The 2025 Google Map at right shows the full length of the bypass, from Morrissey Blvd. at upper right, through the "fish hook" at Hwy. 17/Ocean Street (top center), to Mission Street at lower left. Also shown meeting Mission Street at lower left (not labeled) is the Chestnut Street extension, which was not built until 1964. The terminus of Highway 9 can be seen where River Street crosses Hwy. 1.