Businesses struggle to survive road closures and detours caused by Highway 101 construction.
In 2006, Highway 101 motorists through downtown Santa Rosa were treated to a chilling sight: The northbound off-ramp to Third Street, where a giant green roadway sign announced “Downtown Santa Rosa,” had an addition: a yellow sign with black letters that stated “CLOSED.” Of course, downtown Santa Rosa wasn’t really closed, but the symbolism struck close to home for merchants who were dealing with a disruptive freeway widening project and the beginning of an economic downturn. The Santa Rosa effort was part of a six-phase project, begun 10 years ago, to widen Highway 101 to three lanes all the way from Windsor to Novato.
“The [highway] project had to move forward, we knew that,” says Lynda Angell, president of the Historic Railroad Square Association for the past 11 years. “We just had to accept it.”
Angell and other merchant leaders attended meetings with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) for several years before and during the project. “It had a huge impact on businesses because of all the detours, but Caltrans kept in touch with us through all phases of the construction.”
Downtown Santa Rosa, also known as “Project 2” of the overall Highway 101 widening effort, was a short section—less than three miles from Steele Lane to the Highway 12 junction—but it was the most congested part of 101 north of San Rafael, and the work generated headaches and confusion for all, as roads and highway sections were closed and shifted to facilitate construction.
Angell believes the Association was an important means of communicating with the Railroad Square business and property owners during the months-long process. “Railroad Square is like a family,” she says. “We supported each other, continued to advertise and held special events, and our website was revised about that time as well. It was all to keep Railroad Square in the public eye.”
Nevertheless, she adds, “The widening and the economic downfall happening at the same time had a big impact—but most of our businesses did survive.”
101 history
Santa Rosa, like many towns along the Old Redwood Highway, was founded by merchants who wanted a convenient place to sell stuff to each other and to passing travelers. The community got along with Old Red as its main artery for almost a century, but as cars and trucks got faster and more efficient, they required faster and more efficient roads. In the 1930s and 1940s, community leaders began talking about updated transportation as the key to prosperity.
Sonoma County journalist and historian, Gaye LeBaron, provides some background on 101 in columns published in the Press Democrat in 1987 and 2006: “But even before there were freeways, Santa Rosans were talking about how much they needed one.”
LeBaron chronicles a debate that, beginning in the 1930s, included political, economic and engineering points of view about where to locate the new highway. State engineers strongly advocated a route toward the west side of town, a “bypass” that would run along Wright and Fulton Roads. Other Sonoma County communities, like Petaluma and Healdsburg, ended up with freeway bypasses, which allowed for a slower and more orderly growth pattern. But according to LeBaron, Santa Rosa merchants weren’t having it. “The Chamber of Commerce gave a collective shudder,” she wrote. ‘“Don’t split your city in half, warned the engineers. ‘Don’t let a single tourist get away,’ said the town fathers.”
The next step, in 1939, was a city referendum on the location, a vote allegedly influenced by powerful merchants who favored a route along Wilson Street, just one block west of the eventual location.
State engineers countered that, if the freeway must bisect the community, it should be elevated. Community leaders again fought common sense, vowing there’d be no viaduct, no “freeway on stilts” that let motorists whiz by without stopping to spend.
The highway that was eventually built, with stoplights throughout town, was dubbed “Blood Alley” by local police, with five deaths and 47 injuries in less than two years. It wasn’t long before the “giant viaduct” idea was welcomed by Santa Rosa residents, who were tired of the mayhem and chaos a street-level freeway brought to the heart of their community. LeBaron notes that an editorial in the Press Democrat described 1948 as “the year they sawed the town in half.”
The freeway was elevated in the 1960s, and it wasn’t long before people began to think two lanes in each direction wasn’t enough. The Sonoma County Transportation Authority (SCTA) website states that a 1958 traffic count where College Avenue meets 101 indicated 15,000 cars were passing that point every day. A 2006 traffic count showed 125,000 motorists using the same four lanes of freeway.
Money and politics
In the 1990s, there were multiple attempts to pass funding measures to widen 101. Most were opposed by alternative transportation and environmental groups, which argued a “pavement-only” solution wouldn’t alleviate long-term traffic problems. Measure M, passed in 2004 by a coalition of bicyclists, train buffs, environmentalists and developers, is a quarter-cent sales tax that has something for everyone, including surface street improvement funds for all Sonoma County cities and funds for bike lanes, public transit and more.
But Measure M isn’t the sole source of funding for Highway 101 improvements. By demonstrating we’re a “self-help county” (meaning we’re willing to tax ourselves to support freeway improvement projects), Sonoma County became eligible for additional state funds. For example, Caltrans recently diverted $45 million in savings from North Bay projects to one of the 101 projects in Petaluma.
Proposition 1B, passed by state voters in 2006, let the state sell bonds for transportation infrastructure, and Highway 101 projects are getting help from that source as well. SCTA tracks funding and lobbies (often successfully) for additional money for the roadway.
The total estimated cost to widen 101 from Windsor to Novato and implement a variety of interchange and bridge improvements along the way? A staggering $1 billion to $1.2 billion. We’re still $200 million short to complete the Novato Narrows widening phase in Sonoma County and $110 million for that corresponding stretch in Marin (which was started in July of this year, between Highway 37 and Atherton Avenue in Novato). Funding hasn’t yet been identified for widening 101 between Petaluma and northern Novato.
Why are the estimates so far off? Engineering estimates are tricky. John Maitland, deputy director of projects and programming for SCTA, explains that, “estimates are often done years in advance and may not reflect current costs.” The bids to widen 101 through Santa Rosa came in considerably higher than the engineers’ estimates, but recent projects are coming in well under. County Supervisor Mike McGuire says SCTA saved $68 million in 2010 alone, which will let it fund the Airport Boulevard exchange south of Windsor as well as additional 101 corridor improvements in Rohnert Park.
Why are recent bids so low? Contractors are accepting lower margins in an effort to win bids and keep their cash flow steady. Recent projects are realizing 30 to 35 percent savings from the original engineers’ estimates. Does that discrepancy suggest public works bid awards are too high when the economy is healthy? Well, no one ever said the government was efficient.
Communication with businesses
According to Angell, Caltrans has been working with business owners to keep them informed about road closures and highway improvements. Bob Haus, the Caltrans public information officer assigned to the 101 projects, speaks often to local chambers of commerce and service clubs, and establishes “email blast” address lists to disseminate information. “We want to brief them early and often,” says Haus. “We’re working now [at press time in early August] to notify the businesses around Wilfred Avenue in Rohnert Park.”
Seana Gause, program/project analyst with SCTA, is also involved in business outreach. She was working for Caltrans during Project 2, then accepted a job at SCTA.
Gause explains that the restrictions of working over Santa Rosa Creek during Project 2 (the downtown Santa Rosa section) drove a lot of the extended road closures. “Third Street was closed for three months, and we closed Fourth and Fifth as well at given times. It was necessary to build new bridges over the town.
“It doesn’t surprise me that businesses felt an impact, but I honestly believe the outreach was world-class. The businesses insisted on it, and Caltrans really stepped up to the plate.”
The Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce also funded a special website, www.santarosatraffic.com, that offered regular updates on the project (the website is no longer in existence).
At the northernmost section of the 101 projects, from Steele Lane to Windsor, the most frequent complaint was of uneven pavement, but that section finished ahead of schedule. Dean Molsberry, of Molsberry Market in Larkfield, says he felt little impact from the project in his area. “We’re toward the outskirts of where the traffic congestion begins. I’m definitely glad the project was done. It was overdue.”
Looking southward
Two current projects, in the central section of the county, overlap in various ways. The “Central A” section stretches from Rohnert Park to Pepper Road; “Central B” starts at Pepper and reaches south to the Petaluma Boulevard North exit. Communication is underway now with businesses in Rohnert Park, which at press time (early August) are facing a 12-day closure of Commerce Boulevard.
However, communication is becoming more challenging, says Gause. “Caltrans has been hit pretty hard by the downturn in the economy and state budget, so it’s doing more with less. It’s adapting, using social media outlets to communicate.” Caltrans District 4 has its own Twitter account, Sonoma101, which includes information about traffic shifts and road closures. The District 4 website includes information as well.
The “Marin Sonoma Narrows” section is comprised of several projects that run from Petaluma Boulevard North to Novato. The section through part of Novato is the first to begin.
In Petaluma, as in many Sonoma County communities, the 101 projects are seen as long-term benefits. Onita Pellegrini, CEO of the Petaluma Chamber of Commerce, admits there will be some disruption while the highway is under construction, especially since Petaluma doesn’t have many alternate parallel connecting roads that let motorists avoid 101. “That may be a little difficult,” says Pellegrini, who admits there may be a tendency to avoid the area, “but we have to do what we can to weather through it and give businesses extra support.”
Pellegrini says many Petaluma businesses are destinations, “and will be OK. This will be disruptive, as we know from the experiences of Rohnert Park businesses, but we’ll be delighted when we have a proper freeway all the way to Novato.”
Who benefits?
Most business leaders are looking ahead to easier transportation of goods, services and customers after the highway is widened, but many businesses are benefiting right now. General engineering contractors like Santa Rosa’s Ghilotti Construction are employing workers, buying or leasing equipment, purchasing materials and patronizing local businesses during construction.
Suppliers are benefiting as well. Santa Rosa’s Stevenson Supply is providing a specialized retaining wall system to Ghilotti for use in the crowded area around Rohnert Park and Cotati. According to Kevin Kruizenga, project manager for Ghilotti, the wire “gabion baskets” purchased from Stevenson “let us build an inexpensive wall that holds back the soil. We can work in a tight area and it’s a quarter the cost of a concrete retaining wall.” The baskets lock together with clamps and fabric and stabilize when filled with soil and compacted. Without a system like this, property worth millions would have had to be condemned to build a traditional retaining wall with wide shoulders.
What next?
Obviously, there are short-term problems when the main transportation artery through the county is constrained. But there are also benefits to a comprehensive transportation plan that includes widening the highway, building bike lanes, funding public transportation and improving interchanges. It will be another two to three years before all the work is done, and motorists and truckers have to stay sharp when driving through construction areas, especially those with narrowed lanes.
Supervisor McGuire believes it’s all worth it. “The long-term impacts for business will be great, especially when you factor in potential improvements to the county airport and the commuter rail. There will be three lanes all the way through the main section of Sonoma County!”
Merchant leader Angell advises businesses impacted by nearby roadwork: “You have to just grit your teeth, stay as strong as you can and get through it. And, you have to keep lines of communication open.”
