The California Transportation Commission (CTC) recently approved funding for the Highway 101 widening project in south Santa Barbara County. The decision allocates $226 million to help add another lane in sections of the highway between Santa Barbara and Carpinteria, according to a release from the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG).
SBCAG Executive Director Marjie Kirn said in the release that the funding will help “accelerate construction of the 101 HOV Widening Project.”
“We are very excited to be able to continue the forward momentum from the bridge construction work currently underway in Carpinteria,” Kirn said. “In addition to the CTC funding allocation this week, we are very hopeful the commission will also look favorably on our pending $183 million state grant funding request.”
Gregg Hart, the deputy executive director for SBCAG, told the Sun that the $226 million will help complete the expansion of a few segments of Highway 101 between Santa Barbara and Carpinteria, but the additional $183 million request would help assure that “three out of the five remaining segments” of the highway are widened.
“There’s about 10 miles left to widen, and this will probably get us 6 of those 10 miles,” Hart said. “And the longer term strategy is to apply again in the next funding cycle because of the state gas tax increase.”
Hart said that funds from the gas tax increase will be helpful, and that the funding cycle before and after the gas tax is like “night and day.”
The gas tax hadn’t been raised in decades, Hart said, which “eroded” the “purchasing power” for state transportation projects.
“Now we’re at a funding level that’s sustainable, permanent, and indexed to inflation,” he said. “It provides sustainable and reliable funding for projects like this.”
The Highway 101 expansion project already includes a design that addresses mudslide and debris flow, Hart said when asked if the newest expansions would include storm flow mitigation.
The expanded freeway is raised 10 feet above the “old grade,” Hart explained, which is already complete for sections of northbound Highway 101 in Carpinteria. The expanded section of highway and improved bridges proved the importance of the updated infrastructure during the debris flows on Jan. 9, he said.
“The raised bridge passed all of that water without any of those problems, but the old bridge had material collect,” he said. “It’s a good illustration of what the two scenarios provide in terms of flood control, and there’s an effort to speed up construction of the southbound bridges to raise the height … in preparation for the next year’s storms.”
The expansion will also serve the nearly 100,000 commuters who take the route each workday, Hart explained. Of those daily drivers, around 15,000 are from Ventura County, commuting to Santa Barbara County for work, he said.
He said recent changes to train schedules between the two cities during peak hours will help relieve congestion as well.
“We’re making progress on both fronts and working as hard and fast as we can on those improvements to relieve congestion,” he said.
