Measure A
Highway 101: Padaro and Summerland Segments Completed with Ribbon Cutting
April 28, 2025
7 Miles of New Carpool Lanes, 6 New Bridges, 16 Improved On- and Off-ramps, 6 New Sound Walls, a New Blue Star Memorial Highway Designation, and the New Santa Claus Lane Bikeway Open for Use.
The Highway 101: Padaro and Summerland segments are built, open for use, and relieving traffic congestion between Carpinteria and Summerland. Residents, commuters, project team members, and elected officials celebrated the newly built improvements today. The two project segments include seven miles of new carpool lanes both northbound and southbound, a rebuilt freeway with updated drainage improvements, six new bridges, 16 rebuilt on- and off-ramps, six new sound walls, a new Blue Star Memorial Highway designation honoring veterans, and the new Santa Claus Lane Bikeway.
“The Padaro and Summerland segments showcase a strong collaboration between local, state and federal partners to bring transportation improvements to our region,” said SBCAG Executive Director Marjie KIRN. “Each of the segments were carefully crafted through teamwork between the project team and the public to ensure the designs matched the unique needs of their coastal communities. The collaboration allowed us to deliver improvements faster, secure state funding, and honor resident input.”
“This project has been a long time coming, and I want to thank our residents and local businesses—especially in Padaro and Summerland—for their patience and deep involvement,” said First District County Supervisor Roy Lee. “Our tax dollars were prioritized specifically to reduce traffic congestion, keep cars on the freeway, and get our local roads back to normal. Now that this part of the Highway 101 project is complete, we’re already seeing less congestion, safer roads, and improved quality of life for people in the Summerland area.”
These projects include new freeway lanes that meet current standards for safety and improved sight distance, new on- and off-ramps that enhance merging, new creek bridges for improved water flow and enable freeway widening, and local intersection upgrades. The completed projects close gaps in pedestrian and bicycle networks and improve coastal access. Landscaping includes native or drought-tolerant plants and climate-controlled irrigation.
“There are skilled people at every level of planning, design, environmental review, right-of-way, construction, public outreach, and landscaping that made these projects successful. They continued to push through challenges when they arose. The hundreds of people that made these improvements exemplify a community building community, and it is wonderful to celebrate their achievements today,” said California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 5 Director Scott Eades.
“I am grateful that the state has invested $560 million to make these improvements along the corridor to relieve traffic congestion and help residents and commuters travel safely,” said Senator Monique Limón. “It is also great to see the new carpool lanes up and running as the new Coastal Express electric buses will now be able to provide better and faster service. Thank you to the project team for their work to improve our roadways and beautify this often-used Highway 101 segment.”
On Highway 101, the new peak-period carpool or High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes opened in December and January marking seven new miles between Carpinteria and Summerland to reduce traffic congestion. Carpool lane designations run from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. requiring vehicles to have a driver and at least one passenger during those high traffic periods.
“As the backbone of the Central Coast’s transportation system, improvements to Highway 101 directly benefit residents, businesses, and commuters,” said Assemblymember Gregg Hart. “By leveraging $140 million in local sales tax dollars from Measure A we have attracted nearly $1 billion in state and federal funds to improve local and regional circulation and safety in the 101 corridor.”
The public is encouraged to find more information and sign up for biweekly construction updates on the project’s website at www.SBROADS.com, or by calling (805) 845.5112, or emailing info@SBROADS.com.
The Highway 101: Carpinteria to Santa Barbara project is a partnership between Caltrans, the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, County of Santa Barbara, and the Cities of Carpinteria and Santa Barbara with federal funding provided by the Federal Highway Administration and state funding approved by the California Transportation Commission leveraged by Measure A, a voter approved half-cent sales tax for Santa Barbara County transportation investments.
About the Padaro Segment
The new freeway lanes are part of the overall improvements in the Padaro segment that include new bridges at Toro and Arroyo Paredon Creeks, updated on- and off-ramps at North and South Padaro Lanes, a new clear-span bridge at South Padaro/Santa Claus Lane, and three new sound walls.
Another key improvement is a tribute to World War I Veterans that is located between Carpinteria and North Padaro Lane. In 1928, American Legion Post 49 and local Boy Scouts planted oak trees and laid plaques for World War I Veterans within this area of the highway. Over the years, many of the trees perished and the plaques went missing. The project designates a new Blue Star Memorial Highway area and includes a specially designed median safety barrier with oak leaves and blue star plaques. New Blue Star Memorial Highway signs, sponsored by the Channel Islands District Garden Club, are installed in each direction. As part of the project landscaping, the project team will plant 108 new oak trees, grown from the acorns of the original oaks, along the freeway shoulders and at Loon Point Park.
About the Summerland Segment
In addition to new carpool lanes, the Summerland segment includes new bridges and ramps at the Sheffield Drive Interchange, a new bridge at Evans Avenue, upgraded on- and off-ramps, sound walls, signs, and landscaping. At the Evans Avenue Undercrossing, a new bridge in the median enabled a wider Highway 101. Evans Avenue includes new pedestrian, bike lane, and lighting improvements underneath Highway 101. At the Sheffield Drive Interchange, new freeway bridges were built along with new right hand on- and off-ramps on southbound Highway 101 and improved northbound on- and off-ramps. The on-ramp at Wallace Avenue was replaced and a new retaining wall was added to accommodate the wider freeway. There are also two new sound walls with clear view panels to protect ocean views. Planting and irrigation have been installed, and the plant establishment period continues.
The new carpool lanes connect to existing carpool lanes that were opened on Highway 101 in Carpinteria in 2022. There is ongoing construction to add carpool lanes from Sheffield Drive in Montecito to Hermosillo Road in Santa Barbara. Efforts to secure funding for completing the project are underway that would extend carpool lanes to Sycamore Creek north of Cabrillo Boulevard in Santa Barbara. When completed, these efforts will result the first Santa Barbara County carpool lanes that connect carpool lanes in Mussel Shoals in Ventura County to the City of Santa Barbara. The new lanes also help Coastal Express provide improved service to commuters.
About Highway 101: Carpinteria to Santa Barbara
The Highway 101: Carpinteria to Santa Barbara project will add a new carpool lane in each direction between Carpinteria and Santa Barbara (10.9 miles), with 7 miles complete in three segments as of January 2025. Construction is underway in Montecito and Santa Barbara currently, and the last segment is anticipating funding in June 2025 to begin construction in March 2026. The Highway 101 project includes improvements to current safety standards, new creek and highway bridges, interchanges, on- and off-ramps, and sound walls. The cost for construction of the five segments is approximately $700 million. Funding for construction has or is anticipated to be contributed from the following sources: Senate Bill 1 $295 million, state gas tax $265 million, $12 million from federal sources, and $128 million from Measure A.
