On July 17, the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) was reminded that timely completion of three big highway construction projects in Northern Santa Barbara County depends on the passage of Measure A in November.
SBCAG board members were told at the meeting in Santa Maria that county staff was making “steady progress” on planning the three projects, which include widening the Highway 101/Santa Maria River Levee bridge, building a freeway interchange at Union Valley Parkway in Orcutt, and adding passing lanes on Highway 246 between Buellton and Lompoc.
Each of the projects is scheduled to begin construction over the next few years. However, funding for them relies on Measure A, the continuation of a half-cent sales tax for road and transportation projects that was passed as Measure D in 1990. The current tax measure is set to expire in 2010, unless voters approve Measure A by at least a two-thirds vote on Nov. 4.
The county plans to use the tax money from Measure A as “matching funds” in order to qualify each of the projects for millions of dollars in state funding. Without the money from Measure A, county staff said, one or more of the projects would probably be delayed for up to 10 years.
The combined cost of the projects is estimated to be $178 million, according to current planning summaries.
If all goes according to plan, construction on the bridge-widening project would start in 2010, followed by construction of the Orcutt interchange in 2011, and construction on the lane widening project in 2012.
On Aug. 12, Caltrans and the city of Santa Maria will hold a hearing from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel, 3455 Skyway Drive, in Santa Maria to listen to public comments on a draft environmental assessment on the Orcutt interchange project, as well as the proposed westward expansion of Union Valley Parkway from Hummel Drive to Blosser Road.
For more information, contact David Deas at 925-0951, Ext. 225.
This article appears in Jul 24-31, 2008.
