Two Santa Maria Valley interchange fixes plus the addition of passing lanes on Highway 246 between Buellton and Lompoc have moved to the top of the regional list as the end nears for the South Coast Highway 101 widening project.

Construction won’t start for a few years, but some early steps have occurred for an  interchange project at Highways 101 and 135 on the northern edge of Santa Maria and another at Highway 101 and Betteravia Road.

Public Works Director Brett Fulgoni unveiled conceptual designs and time frames for the two projects during the State of the City presentation last Tuesday.

Two design concepts have been created for the Highway 101 project at Highway 135 (also known as Broadway).

“It’s been in the works for a number of years … ,” Fulgoni said. “We’re finally going to see our light of day here in about 2030, and we’ll be under construction once the 101 is complete in Santa Barbara.”

The project just south of the Santa Maria River Bridge will cost about $75 million with construction set for 2030-32, Fulgoni said.

For the Betteravia Road project, officials have placed a $35 million price tag with construction expected in 2032-33.

Work on the environmental documents for the project have started.

“We’ll create a new loop for the Betteravia onramp to 101 north and hopefully prepare us for expansion points east,” he said.

Santa Maria is pursuing the annexation of 985 acres of land east of Highway 101 to accommodate future growth.

The process for each project will include holding public meetings to get comments about the design options. 

Funding will come from a variety of sources, including Measure A, a half-cent sales tax increase approved by voters to pay for various road projects and transportation programs.

The regional agency, the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, spearheaded Measure A’s approval by voters and spending.

In addition to the two interchanges, the Measure A plan’s “final four” includes a project to add more passing lanes on Highway 246 between Buellton and Lompoc.

The fourth project would add a brand-new interchange on Highway 101 at McCoy Lane, although Santa Maria is assessing the need for that one, officials said.

The two other interchange projects have involved SBCAG, Santa Maria and Caltrans staff, but Fourth District Supervisor Bob Nelson said Thursday the county should be involved in any talks about a Highway 101/McCoy Lane proposal. 

“(I’m) looking forward to kind of a robust discussion about where the best place to reprogram that project would be,” Nelson said. 

The Highway 246 project would install passing lanes from Hapgood Road to Domingos Road, using $9 million from Measure A and with construction occurring in 2033.

The environmental work on the Highway 246 passing lane should begin in 2026, Sarkes Khachek, director of programming for SBCAG, said during Thursday’s meeting.

SBCAG also started pursuing outside funding, such as state and federal grants, to help pay for the projects with the final four expected to cost between $215 million and $255 million. Measure A tax proceeds would provide roughly $37 million.

“Our goal is to fully fund and get these projects under construction as soon as we can,” Khachek said.

One key source, federal and state gas revenues, has declined amid the advent of electric vehicles and better fuel efficiency, Khachek said. 

Khachek, who was recognized Thursday for his 20 years working at SBCAG, provided a sneak peek at the draft Measure A strategic plan, which spells out projects along with likely costs, schedules, funding needs and more. The final plan could be adopted next month.

Measure A proceeds have funded 16 regional projects with seven completed and open to the public while six others remain under construction or in development leaving the three interchanges and passing lanes as the final four.

The SBCAG board intends to renew or extend the sales tax measure to continue getting funding for more transportation projects and programs after the existing Measure A expires in 2040.