California Ave. closure starts Dec. 15
Expect detours for bikes, scooters and authorized vehicles
Beginning Dec. 15, 2025 and continuing into 2026, a portion of California Avenue near Cruess Hall will be closed to vehicular and bicycle through traffic. The closure extends from the intersection at North Quad to the intersection at Tennis Court Lane, near the campus gate.
See closure details in the interactive map and find information on detours below.
- Tips for Using the Map Below
- See the legend. Click the icon next to the title "Big Shift Detour Map." This toggles the map's legend to appear.
Zoom in. use your mouse's scroll wheel or track ball when hovered over the map portion.
Full screen. To view the map in full screen mode, click the "four corners" icon in the upper-right-hand corner of the map. (Once in full screen mode you can click on the plus and minus icons located in the lower-left-hand corner of the map.)
Detail view. To zoom in on a specific segment, click the title of that segment in the map's legend.
Detours
About Big Shift
The closures are in place to accommodate the installation of hot water pipes as part of the Big Shift, a campus-spanning project to decarbonize university infrastructure by converting our heating system to use hot water instead of natural gas. Learn more about Big Shift.
Bike Detours
Bicycles, scooters and other micromobility vehicles, will be directed around the California Avenue closure via Regan Hall Circle and Sprocket Bikeway.
Pedestrian Detours
Pedestrians will still be able to walk down California Avenue, but the west sidewalk near Cruess Hall will be closed. Pedestrians will be directed to the eastern sidewalk via crosswalks at the North Quad intersection and near Cowell Building.
Vehicular Detours
The closure will only affect vehicles authorized to drive through campus, including delivery vehicles. This traffic will be directed to other campus entrances, including the entrance on First Street near the A Street intersection and the entrance on Hutchison Drive near the intersection of Kleiber Hall Drive.
Future closures
Starting Jan. 2026, the closure area will expand to include more of California Avenue as well as portions of Sprocket Bikeway and North Quad. Use the map above to see closure and detour details. Open the sidebar to toggle the layer "Closure starting Jan. 2026."
Closure details
California Avenue will be closed to through traffic between the intersections of Storer Mall and Tennis Court Lane. Sprocket Bikeway will be closed to through traffic between the traffic circle south of the Student Housing Administration Building and the intersection at California Avenue. North Quad will be closed to through traffic between the intersections of California Avenue and West Quad.
Future detours
Authorized vehicles will continue to be detoured to other campus entrances. Sidewalks will remain open, with the exception the sidewalk nearest to Cruess Hall. Bikes, scooters and the like will be routed around the California Ave closure via Regan Hall Circle, Sprocket Bikeway and Storer Mall. Through traffic for Sprocket Bikeway or North Quad will be directed around the closure via West Quad, Shields Avenue, Storer Mall and Sprocket Bikeway.
Have any questions?
If you have questions about the upcoming closure or Big Shift at large, reach out to the project team via the Big Shift contact form.