Highway 101’s Southbound Carpool Lane from Montecito to Carpinteria Opens This January

Highway 101’s median between Carpinteria and North Padaro Lane traces a languid blue line and oak leaf shapes, recalling the original plaques and oaks that honored the veterans of World War I, set there in 1928 by Boy Scouts and American Legion Post No. 49. The plaques and trees disappeared over time, but the remembrance was newly seen after the new northbound carpool lane opened in mid-December between Carpinteria’s Santa Monica Road and Montecito’s Sheffield Drive. The equivalent southbound lane could open as soon as the end of this week.

To replace the plaques and trees, 108 new oaks, grown from the original trees’ acorns, will be planted along the highway shoulder and at Loon Point, the project announced at SBRoads.org. Memorial highway signs are also going up to mark the history of the area.

This 16-mile-long, five-part project to add carpool lanes from the Ventura County line to Milpas Street in Santa Barbara is in its final phases, although it’s at least three years from completion and not yet completely funded.

Currently, the foot path under the highway at Butterfly Lane in Montecito is open again after a ceiling grate was completed. Construction crews continue to work in the median, complete on- and off-ramps, and install new supports at the bridge decks. In Santa Barbara, the city is adding a roundabout at Los Patos Lane and Cabrillo Boulevard.

The northbound lanes through Montecito, however, will remain split to the right and left until summer 2025 to give crews room to construct the new northbound lane. The split will then move to the southbound lanes, as the road at that point is too narrow to accommodate both traffic and construction equipment and crews.

All that constitutes the south end of the final phase. The north end — from Hermosillo Road to Sycamore Creek by the zoo — is expected to be under construction until 2028, if funds are awarded this summer. After that, landscaping takes place, with planting ongoing at Summerland now and scheduled for Padaro and Montecito in the coming months through 2026.

Correction: The southbound carpool lane is expected to open by January 10, not the third week of January.