Highway 101 widening project from Carpinteria and Santa Barbara to begin in April

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The Highway 101 widening project from Carpinteria to Santa Barbara is set to begin the night of Sunday, April 5th.

The project will add a peak-period carpool lanes from Carpinteria to Santa Barbara. It will also add new bridges for the Santa Monica and Franklin Creeks, and improve the off and on ramps to the freeway.

Six new sound walls will be added to reduce the noise from the highway.

Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) Executive Director Marjie Kirn called the project a way to deal with the traffic backup that has increased in the past 30 years, "We are grateful to the California Transportation Commission (CTC) for recognizing the importance of this project..."

Se went on to say, "There is a lot of work that has to occur across a number of government agencies to bring these projects to fruition, and our team is looking forward to continuing that process as we apply for funding for the remaining segments in Montecito and Santa Barbara later this summer to complete the corridor."

The project is a collaboration between SBCAG, Caltrans, the City of Carpinteria with state funding approved by the CTC.

The project is expected to cost $700 million.

Construction of public works projects is considered an essential government service even during Safe at Home orders put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic.