Edhat Staff
Highway 101 reopened in Montecito following the 1/9 Debris Flow (Photo: Patti Gutshall)
Source: Santa Barbara County Association of Governments
The California Transportation Commission approved $226 million in SB 1 state gas tax funding for the U.S. 101 HOV Widening Project in south Santa Barbara County at its meeting last Wednesday in Orange County.
Marjie Kirn, SBCAG Executive Director, said “Thanks to new transportation money from the SB1 state gas tax signed into law by Governor Brown last year, the California Transportation Commission now has funding available to accelerate construction of the 101 HOV Widening Project. We are very excited to be able continue the forward momentum from the bridge construction work currently underway in Carpinteria. 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. If successful, we will have the funding necessary to complete the next three segments of the 101 widening from Carpinteria north through the Sheffield interchange in Montecito.”
Santa Barbara County voters approved Measure A in 2008 to raise the local sales tax to fund regional transportation projects. Local Measure A funds are combined with additional state and federal funding to fully fund highway projects like the 101 HOV Widening in south Santa Barbara County. Measure A provides $140 million in locally controlled transportation funding that, combined with additional state or federal funding, will fund the remaining ten mile segment of the 101 between Santa Barbara and Carpinteria.
Joan Hartmann, Santa Barbara County Supervisor and SBCAG Board Chair, said “ Santa Barbara County taxpayers voted to use local Measure A transportation sales tax funds to attract additional state funding for SBCAG’s highest regional transportation priority – constructing new peak hour carpool lanes on the 101 freeway. With the passage ofthe SB1 new state gas tax, the California Transportation Commission can now bring critically needed state transportation funding to partner with SBCAG & Caltrans to keep the 101 HOV project on track.”
The California Transportation Commission is expected to make an allocation decision on SBCAG’s additional $183million SB 1 funded transportation grant application at its May 2018 meeting. If this grant application is successful, the next three segments of the 101 HOV Project, from Bailard Avenue in Carpinteria to past the Sheffield Interchange in Montecito, can begin construction in late 2019.
Hooray! Lets keep the progress rolling along. Of course, the bottle neck will be making progress in Montecito. Maybe now that the community has given them so much money, and genuine concern and help after the slides, then maybe just maybe they will stop holding this project hostage and let the progress happen there too. This has become more than just a NIMBY issue since the current effective third land of the freeway IS the surface streets of Montecito. IF they don’t permit this to move along, then the congestion and smog will only get much much worse, degrading the quality of life for everyone that either lives or drives through Montecito.
Oh Good more noise.
If you build it, they will come. This won’t speed up traffic, but will increase over crowding.
Just about all studies show that adding more lanes adds more traffic.
So we should narrow the 101 to one lane to reduce traffic? The old lanes could be made into meditation space where people could meditate on all things including just about all stupid studies. Our local government f#(
About time. The idea that adding lanes will add traffic is silly. 101 doesn’t provide an alternate route to LA or SF that will attract drivers. The alternative is to trap drivers idling in traffic increasing pollution when we could be getting those cars out of SB and to their destination. Further, we have a large workforce commuting into SB that are wasting time sitting in cars in the morning and evening. It is selfish for us not to get this done for them. I am yet to hear one good argument as to why we shouldn’t fast track this project. Montecito is going to need to get comfortable with change to their on/off-ramps.
Yea will the construction goes on all all night hammering hammering hammering for months and months go ahead and down vote me maybe I’ll get a jack hammer come into your neighborHOODS at night and go at it won’t that be fun?