U.S.101 Will Be Improved and Expanded In Four Phases

U.S. 101 HOV Lane Widening

The good news for motorists and truckers traveling on U.S. 101 is that construction has begun to add northbound and southbound High Occupancy Vehicle (carpool) lanes to the most congested corridor on the Central Coast of California, between Mussel Shoals in Ventura County and the city of Santa Barbara. Upon completion of the project, this 16 mile corridor will be expanded from four to six lanes and be a part of a continuous 40 mile, six lane highway, extending from the city of Ventura in Ventura County to the city of Goleta in Santa Barbara County. The carpool lanes will be the first ever opened on the Central Coast of California.

U.S. 101 is one of two north-south highways in California that connect the Los Angeles basin, with a population of thirteen million, and the greater San Francisco Bay Area, with a population of seven million. The other north-south highway, Interstate 5, is periodically closed due to inclement weather and U.S. 101 serves as the primary north-south route in California during those periods.

The corridor is vital to providing access from Central Coast agricultural operations to markets around the country. It also provides critical access to Vandenberg Air Force Base in central Santa Barbara County. Most of the corridor is within the Santa Barbara urbanized area, which includes the University of California at Santa Barbara, defense-related businesses, and hundreds of businesses related to the tourism industry. On a daily basis, thousands of commuters from neighboring Ventura County, interregional truck traffic, and tourists combine for an average traffic volume of 90,000 vehicles per day, exceeding the capacity of the four-lane highway for hours at a time, bringing traffic to a crawl. In anticipation of the opening of the carpool lanes, plans are already being developed to dramatically expand the number of commuter buses traveling the corridor, which will have the advantage of driving in the new lanes during commute hours.

The bad news for motorists is that construction of the expansion project will take an estimated fifteen years to complete. Because of its length and expense, the sixteen mile widening project will be delivered in four phases, with an estimated total cost of nearly $690 million. The project will be funded by $140 million from Measure A, Santa Barbara County's transportation sales tax, and $550 million in state and federal funding.

The project is a collaborative effort between Caltrans, the owner-operator of the highway, the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG), the primary funding partner, and the local jurisdictions adjacent to the highway including the city of Santa Barbara, city of Carpinteria and County of Santa Barbara.

The eight cities in the county, the County of Santa Barbara, and SBCAG have adopted positions supporting the US 101 HOV widening as our region's highest priority transportation project for federal funding.

The five Central Coast Counties - San Benito, Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara - have formed a coalition to raise awareness of the U.S. 101 corridor as a major economic asset to the state and nation and encourage investment in the corridor. The Central Coast Coalition members meet regularly with elected officials and transportation administrators from Sacramento and Washington D.C. to ensure that U.S. 101 gets its fair share of attention and resources.

The four phases of the project are:

Phase 1 - Milpas to Hot Springs Operational Improvements Project (1 mile)