Work to expand Highway 101 near Pismo Beach gets $65 million boost from state
Traffic on Highway 101 near Pismo Beach could get a lot easier to navigate in coming years.
The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments received a $65 million grant from the California Transportation Commission to fund the Five Cities Multimodal Transportation Network Enhancement Project, the local organization said in a June 29 news release said.
The Five Cities Project calls for adding a peak-hour travel lane on the southbound side of Highway 101 entering Pismo Beach, the release said.
That would alleviate a “major bottleneck” at a lower cost than adding a general-purpose lane or high-occupancy vehicle lane, the release said.
Also included in the plan is a mobility hub featuring an electric vehicle charging station to serve the needs of local and regional transit, according to SLOCOG.
It would also reduce traffic on local roads that some southbound commuters use as a pass-through route during busy hours, making it safer to walk, bike and drive in Pismo Beach, the release said.
“The multimodal project will improve traffic flow for the many commuters who use this busy corridor,” Caltrans District 5 director Scott Eades said in the release. It will also enhance safety and provide more transportation choices for residents, commuters and visitors to the area.”
The state grant comes as part of the Trade Corridor Enhancement Program, which supports infrastructure improvements on federally designated trade corridors of national and regional significance.
Highway 101 expansion planned near Pismo Beach
A form of highway expansion near Pismo Beach has been in the works since 2018, when Senate Bill 1 implemented a 12-cent base gasoline excise tax increase to fund transportation projects.
The peak-hour lane would be open from 2 to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 1 to 5 p.m. on weekends, and would be located left of the southbound fast lane for around 4 to 5 miles near Pismo Beach, according to previous Caltrans estimates.
Caltrans predicted the lane would be the same width as a conventional lane, but with only a 2-foot shoulder.
Caltrans estimates placed the cost of creating such a lane at around $63 million.
As of June 2021, only around $11 million had been secured. The state grant makes up the difference, and then some.
In the release, Pismo Beach Mayor Ed Waage said the highway improvements “will serve as a remarkable enhancement, not only for the city of Pismo Beach but the entire Five Cities area. This project’s positive impact on the community’s connectivity and quality of life cannot be overstated.”
SLOCOG executive director Pete Rodgers said in the release that the organization was “elated” to receive the grant funding.
“Although we recognize this as a big win for the county, it parallels with the fact that we’re at a time when local transportation funding is extremely limited,” Rodgers said.
San Luis Obispo County is projected to have a $2.3 billion transportation infrastructure deficit over the next two decades, according to the 2023 Regional Transportation Plan, the release said.
San Luis Obispo County Supervisor and SLOCOG Board of Directors president Debbie Arnold said the project is the result of a decade of coordinated efforts between SLOCOG, Caltrans District 5 and the city of Pismo Beach.
“These investments in environmental, design, and right of way phases are significant for our region,’ Arnold said in the release. “This funding, provided by the California Transportation Commission, now allows SLOCOG and our partners to move these important projects forward without delay.”
This story was originally published July 5, 2023 at 4:34 PM.
