Highway 101 Expansion Plan Still Being Debated

A long debated freeway widening plan between Montecito and Carpinteria is still unresolved, and a meeting to work on solutions is apparently not going to happen this month.

More paperwork from Sacramento is necessary for Thursday’s meeting, and the discussion is being moved to January.

One of the key issues is getting traffic on and off the freeway.

CalTrans is favoring off ramps on the right side of the project.

Some residents are supporting the fast lane off ramps that currently exist.

The overall project will add an additional lane in each direction. Currently there are only two northbound and two southbound lanes in this section of the freeway.

The next meeting in front of the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, to discuss the plan, take public comments, and talk about design solutions is expected in January.

While all this is going on, the estimated $400 million dollar, 10-mile long improvement plan remains on the drawing board, while peak hour congestion brings drivers to a crawl.