The next phase of the persistent Highway 101 construction project is coming to Santa Barbara this August or September.

The fourth phase of the Highway 101 construction project will redirect the flow of traffic and temporarily shut down freeway ramps along the highway.

The main period of construction will begin in 2024 and will not be completed until 2026 – with an end date of 2028 for the entire widening project.

The next phase and the closures were announced on Thursday by Kirsten Ayars, a spokesperson for Caltrans and the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, during a meeting at Montecito Union School.

About eight members of the public attended.

According to Joe Erwin, a project manager from Caltrans, residents should be prepared to adjust as construction crews move through the area.

“People should expect that there will be changes where they’re normally driving,” Erwin said. “There’s going to be a lot of lane shifts as we construct the different parts.”

However, Erwin does not expect traffic to get worse during construction but stated that it will not be better until the project is finished.

Construction will start between Olive Mill and Hermosillo roads.

The Santa Barbara portion of the project is the fourth phase of the multi-year plan that is intended to widen Highway 101 between Santa Barbara and Carpinteria.

The project will add a third lane on both sides of the highway and will act as a high-occupancy vehicle lane for carpools during peak hours in the morning and evening.

Construction crews will usually work during the day, but night work and lane closures may happen as needed.

Besides more lanes, residents can expect new safety barriers, sound walls, and new on- and off-ramps.

The fourth phase of the project is expected to cost $700 million and is funded by a mixture of Measure A, state funds, and federal gas taxes.

As construction begins, Ayars stated that beginning in late June or early July construction crews will begin building up the median and shoulders of the highway to handle the extra traffic.

Beginning in the fall, traffic will be redirected to the median using a mixture of traffic cones, called channelizers, and concrete barriers.

Construction will also continue near Montecito, which Ayars stated is to coincide with construction in Santa Barbara to be more efficient.

The northbound lanes will be split by safety barriers between Hixon and Olive Mill roads to create a space for crews to work between the two lanes. One lane will direct traffic onto the southbound lane.

According to Erwin, Santa Barbara and Montecito were chosen as the last parts to complete because they were the most challenging segments.

“The constrained right-of-way is one of the primary challenges,” Erwin said. “And maintaining two lanes in each direction during peak hours with that constrained right-of-way and trying to build two HOV lanes at the same time.”

Additionally, some on-ramps and off-ramps will be closed during construction, but not all at once. Crews will complete work on one ramp before moving on to the next one.

The first ramp scheduled to close is the northbound off-ramp at San Ysidro, which will be closed from mid-2024 until fall 2024.

The fourth phase of the plan breaks the highway construction into five segments including Carpinteria, Padaro, Summerland, Montecito, and Santa Barbara – the final segment to undergo construction.

“We had to segment it because of funding,” Irwin said. “If we tried to do the entire 12 miles of project in one go, it would be way too expensive to afford and then too challenging to construct all at once.”

“So, it was a decision made early on that we were going to break it up into segments.”

Construction will also continue in the Padaro portion of Highway 101 but is expected to finish construction in 2024. The Summerland segment is undergoing landscaping, but the new lanes, bridges, ramps, and other features are already completed.

The Carpinteria segment of the project is already completed, as well as the new Santa Claus Lane bikeway, and two new roundabouts – one at San Ysidro and another at Olive Mill.

The project, which is funded by Measure A and the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, currently has enough funding for the southern portion of the Santa Barbara segment. The project team is applying for funds to complete the northern portion of the segment.

The full cost will be $1 billion for the entire Highway 101 project, including the new roundabouts and bike lane.

Fred Luna, director of Project Delivery & Construction for SBCAG, confirmed that officials are seeking about $100 million from the State of California to complete the project but are contributing $20-30 million from Measure A.

“We’re looking at one more funding cycle. We can get that funded, and then we can get this reasonably completed in the next three to four years,” Luna told Noozhawk.