Those traveling in the Fairview Avenue area of Goleta will see two highway access ramps reopen this week after a 10-month closure.

With stage three of the Goleta drainage project complete, Caltrans plans to reopen the southbound Highway 101 offramp at Fairview Avenue on Wednesday, according to Caltrans spokesman Jim Shivers.

The northbound Highway 101 onramp at Fairview is set to reopen Friday, weather permitting.

Both ramps were closed in late March 2015 — about a year into the infrastructure project that’s slated to be complete in April if stormy weather doesn’t spoil the state’s plans.

Once the ramps reopen, it’ll be smooth sailing for motorists in that part of Goleta.

“I’m not aware of any future ramp closures related to this project,” Shivers told Noozhawk.

He said construction this week would include a traffic switch back to the original configuration of Highway 101, along with roadwork on the median barrier and outside shoulder.

The $17 million project undertaken by San Marcos Flatiron West Incorporated is supposed to improve the capacity of two drainage culverts along Las Vegas Creek and San Pedro Creek west of Fairview Avenue — areas that had been susceptible to flooding in the past.  

Caltrans is collaborating on the project with the Santa Barbara County Flood Control District and the city of Goleta, which previously estimated the existing culverts at the ramps could withstand only a 10-year storm event.

Replacing the culverts would increase capacity to withstand a 25-year storm event instead, preventing flooding in surrounding neighborhoods north of Calle Real. 

The work also included reconstructing the highway’s southbound offramp.

Shivers said all local businesses in the Fairview Shopping Center have and will continue to stay open for business during the project.          

— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.