Carpinteria Highway Project Tests and Closures Commence
As Caltrans prepares to enlarge a pair of Carpinteria overpasses, overnight lane closures on Highway 101 will occur intermittently, generally between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. Currently, through Saturday, December 17, median and shoulder areas of the 101 will be occupied by Caltrans crews removing old pavement, placing roadway base, and compacting areas in anticipation of upcoming lane shifts. Caltrans is also moving large equipment and delivering test piles to the Linden Avenue area.
The pile tests may begin December 19 or soon thereafter, and loud noise and vibration will be felt near the site while the pile driving is active. The tests are to ensure the pile lengths — some as long as 104 feet — are appropriate for soil conditions.
The project includes building four new sound walls to reduce highway noise in neighborhoods, new bridges over Carpinteria Creek at Highway 101 and Via Real to improve habitat and reduce flooding, and bike and pedestrian improvements. The most extensive changes are planned for the Casitas Pass Road and Linden Avenue overpasses, which will someday span a highway with new carpool lanes. The project will add to the Linden Avenue bridge a second lane heading north and will direct highway traffic to take a newly added right turn, loop, and on-ramp onto the 101. A new roundabout there will also connect Linden, Ogan Road, and Via Real.
At Casitas Pass Road, the new bridge will feature two lanes to the north, one lane to the south and a left-turn lane toward 101 southbound, a planted median strip, and access on and off northbound 101 from Via Real.
The project will begin in earnest in early 2017. The Linden/Casitas Pass project end date is 2020, at a cost of $60 million, being paid by Caltrans, S.B. County Association of Governments, and the City of Carpinteria.
Daily photos of construction conditions can be viewed at Caltrans’ Construction Update page, and more information is available at the interactive site sbroads.com.
