WATSONVILLE — Costs are rising for two major transportation projects in Santa Cruz County, forcing leaders from the local agency responsible to grapple with numerous strategies aimed at filling the funding gap.

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission needs to come up with some capital to complete several segments of its Coastal Rail Trail project as well as the Highway 1 State Park to Bay Avenue/Porter Street auxiliary lanes and bus-on-shoulder effort, since both are experiencing significant cost overruns as construction and planning phases progress.

At the commission’s 9 a.m. Thursday meeting inside the Watsonville City Council Chambers, the 12-member commission will consider recommendations from its staff to pursue borrowing money and project scope adjustments mean

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