The Santa Barbara County Association of Governments discussed plans Thursday for the long-awaited commuter train from Ventura County and design contracts for the Highway 101 widening, both vital components of the “lane and a train” Measure A promise.
The majority of local funding for the massive freeway widening project in southern Santa Barbara County is coming from Measure A and there has been almost no traction in the effort to get a valid commuter train — until now.
There could be an Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train scheduled specifically for commuters as soon as spring 2016, with departures from Moorpark or Oxnard and arrivals in Santa Barbara and Goleta around 7:30 to 8 a.m. Return trips to Ventura County would be scheduled just after 5 p.m.
To avoid competing with the many southbound Metrolink trains taking people from Ventura to Los Angeles each morning, a train could spend the night in Moorpark or Oxnard and then make its way north from there each morning, SBCAG public information coordinator Gregg Hart said.
The South Coast Highway 101 widening project is almost to the design stage and the 10-mile stretch will be cut into two parts. Caltrans will design the southern portion, from Carpinteria to the Padaro Lane area, and SBCAG will hire an independent design firm for the northern half, from Padaro Lane to Santa Barbara.
The design is expected to cost $22.3 million, including other pre-construction costs like mapping surveys, drainage studies, permitting and project management, according to SBCAG.
The City of Santa Barbara wants several related traffic projects added to the overall planning but they are not funded in the design portion.
Fifth District County Supervisor Steve Lavagnino asked what happens if the project gets to the construction stage before it’s fully funded, which is likely given the fact the $435 million project needs at least $150 million more in funding.
SBCAG Executive Director Jim Kemp said Caltrans has contributed some funding, through STIP, and the organization will break the project up into “construct-able” segments so construction can be done piece by piece, not all at once.
— Noozhawk news editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
