Granite Construction to Build Final Segment of Highway 101 Expansion in Santa Barbara Under $114 Million Contract

The Highway 101 expansion project has reached a major milestone, with Granite Construction winning the contract for the project’s next mainline segment. 

Granite Construction, a construction and materials company, announced it had secured Segment 4E North of the Highway 101 Carpinteria to Santa Barbara Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) project from Caltrans.

The contract award is $114 million, Granite said. 

The project is scheduled to begin later this month and is expected to conclude in December 2028. 

The company is already serving as the construction manager for the entire phase 4 project. In 2024, Granite secured the Segment 4E South. 

The Carpinteria to Santa Barbara segment is a major, multi-year project to enhance safety and reduce congestion along U.S. Route 101 in Santa Barbara County.

As part of the project, existing lanes will be replaced to add a new peak-period carpool lane in each direction between Hermosillo Road and Salinas Street. 

The project will also bring significant upgrades to the Cabrillo Boulevard Interchange. The interchange will be reconstructed to add two bridges and right-hand freeway ramps, replacing the existing left-hand ramps and improving safety. 

A new teardrop roundabout will be constructed on Cabrillo Boulevard that will improve traffic flow at the intersection with Highway 101 northbound ramps. 

This project is the seventh and final mainline segment in the Highway 101 Carpinteria to Santa Barbara CM/GC project, according to Granite Construction.

Around 15,700 tons of hot mix asphalt will be sourced from Granite’s Santa Paula Hot Plant for the project. Granite’s onsite batch plant will produce roughly 7,000 cubic yards of concrete with aggregates from the company’s Bee Rock quarry. 

Additionally, Granite Construction will produce around 30,000 tons of recycled aggregate base onsite with a portable crusher, according to the company. 

Granite Construction was selected as the CM/GC in 2018, and construction on the first segment began in 2020, said Granite Regional VP Larry Camilleri.

In the past seven years, the company has reached agreements on 13 construction contracts: seven mainline and six ‘parallel’ projects, Camilleri added.

Ongoing Construction Work 

The contract comes as construction is underway on Highway 101 to expand the corridor and improve overall safety. 

An ADA-compliant ramp is being built at the intersection of Hermosillo Road and Coast Village Road. Additionally, crews are working on paving new lanes, safety barriers, adding electrical lighting connections, overhead sign foundations, and grading soil for better drainage. 

Construction on the final segment of the Highway 101: Carpinteria to Santa Barbara project will begin on April 6, 2026, which will see the completion of 10.9 miles of continuous peak-period carpool lanes.