Caltrans is now in the throes of yet another effort to fix the long leaking Castillo Street onramp and underpass, an exercise slated to cost $873,000. Construction work is expected to last until sometime this September. That underpass has been leaking since the 1970s, having been built below sea level and atop a water table with plenty in it. Traffic engineers with the City of Santa Barbara have expressed exasperation that Caltrans is not pursing a permanent solution to a problem that’s been the focus of at least six temporary solutions thus far. The latest fix is slated to provide relief for about five years. Caltrans spokesperson Jim Shivers said a permanent repair would be sufficiently expensive to require the cooperation of local partners that don’t currently exist.
