The multimillion-dollar effort to improve traffic circulation between Santa Barbara and Carpinteria is nearing its final lap, with the next round of construction set to begin next spring.
The Santa Barbara Architectural Board of Review recently gave unanimous 5-0 approval to some landscaping changes to the proposed new on and offramps for Highway 101 at Cabrillo Boulevard.
The final section is known as 4E, and includes 1.5 miles of a high-occupancy vehicle lane, in addition to new on and offramps, reconfiguration of the Cabrillo Boulevard interchange to eliminate the left-hand exits, two new bridges over Cabrillo Boulevard and other upgrades to improve visibility and drainage.
It’s the last segment of an 11-mile HOV lane from Carpinteria to Santa Barbara.
“So when the mayor came back with that $130 million recently, that was to fund this project, right,” said Dennis Whelan, ABR board member.
Everyone nodded affirmatively.
Mayor Randy Rowse in April attended a lobbying trip to Washington D.C. along with county supervisors Bob Nelson and Steve Lavagnino and staff members of the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments to seek funding. SBCAG, Caltrans and other government officials will hold a press conference at 3:30 p.m. July 17 at the Michael Towbes Library Plaza, 40 E. Anapamu St., for a ceremonial check presentation.
The changes approved by the ABR are minor, but important to the overall aesthetic to the development. Crews plan to eliminate the soundwalls at the onramps and plant more trees and landscaping.
More landscaping will also be added to the new offramp at Cabrillo Boulevard. The city of Santa Barbara, Union Pacific Railroad and Caltrans worked together to encroach into the Union Pacific railroad and add landscaping.
New plans also call for landscaping at the roundabout aprons, rather than all stones.
The ABR members breezed through their comments and were in full support of the changes.
“Thank you for supporting our journey through this,” said Fred Luna, project manager for SBCAG.
The $134 million from the California Department of Transportation will also pay for the replacement of the railroad bridge at an unmarked exit off of Highway 101, and new bicycle and pedestrian improvements on Cabrillo Boulevard at the Los Patos Way intersection.
In addition, the money will help pay for sidewalk improvements, crosswalks, curb extensions, and improved street lighting and pedestrian infrastructure at several locations in Santa Barbara’s Eastside Neighborhood.
The Ventura County Transportation Commission will also purchase three 45-foot, zero-emission transit replacement buses for the Coastal Express route connecting Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. The project should improve travel time reliability, facilitating service expansion.