Lea este artículo en español aquí.
Caltrans is proposing to repave the portion of Hwy 101 that lies in San Benito County as well as upgrading several accompanying infrastructure elements.
Hwy 101 is a major route for commercial, commuter and tourism traffic, and the area near Rocks Road was included in California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s 2022 Wildlife movement Barriers Priority List.
According to a Conservation Board 2023 report, between 63,000 and 84,000 vehicles use that part of the highway each day.
In September, the state transportation agency released the project’s initial study and mitigated negative declaration, which states Caltrans expects no significant effect on the environment.
Public comments regarding the project are due Oct. 27. According to the initial study document, the next step is for Caltrans to approve the environmental studies, do additional studies, or abandon the project. If the project is approved, the agency will seek funding to design and construct it.
Caltrans had scheduled an online meeting for Oct. 9 but it was not held because of technical difficulties, District 5 Public Information Officer Heidi Crawford said.
Crawford said the meeting is being rescheduled for the next couple of weeks, tentatively set for Oct. 23.
According to the project’s fact sheet, Caltrans will rehabilitate pavement and drainage systems along the 7.5-mile stretch from San Juan Road to just beyond the Betabel RV Park, upgrade traffic safety systems, replace and repair transportation management system elements such as traffic census stations, and improve wildlife connectivity by enlarging two drainage culverts.
The estimated cost of the project is $69.3 million. Construction is estimated to begin in summer 2029 and last four years.
“Currently, the pavement within the project limits is exhibiting distress and unacceptable ride quality and 28 drainage systems within the project limits are deteriorating,” according to the project fact sheet. “If left untreated, these conditions will result in increasingly higher maintenance costs in the future and possible roadway/embankment failure.”
According to the initial study, Caltrans would need to acquire property for temporary construction, permanent drainage and maintenance easements, and tree and vegetation removal.
The project’s wildlife connectivity element includes replacing two culverts with a 20-feet-wide, 10-feet high, three-sided bottomless structure. The existing culverts are five feet by four feet and six feet by six feet concrete boxes, respectively.
According to a Caltrans map, the proposed wildlife corridor structures would be near San Juan Road.
There is a separate wildlife corridor project proposed by the Wildlife Conservation Board near Rocks Road.
The alternative presented by Caltrans is to overlay the existing lanes with a thick layer of asphalt and grinding and overlaying bridge structures and on-and-off ramps. It also involves improving culverts, nonstandard guardrails, concrete barriers and other elements.
The initial study and proposed mitigated negative declaration is here.
The project’s fact sheet is here.
The Caltrans project website is here.
To submit public comments:
- Attend a virtual open forum.
- The public may send their comments via U.S. mail to: Matt Fowler, Environmental Branch Chief, District 5 Environmental Division, California Department of Transportation, 50 Higuera Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401.
- Submit comments via email to: SBT101Pavement@dot.ca.gov
We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. Producing local news is expensive, and community support keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service nonprofit news.
You must be logged in to post a comment.