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Road Warrior

Trying to make sense out of getting around

What’s new in 101 construction zone?

Tuesday, at 6:02 by

Caltrans has updated its timeline for changes in the Rohnert Park-to-Cotati-to-Petaluma construction zone of Highway 101. For widening 101 from Pepper Road south to Petaluma Boulevard North, K-rails have been going up along the road but Caltrans spokesman Bob Haus said construction will really begin around mid-July. The new Wilfred Avenue overpass, which was due to open in early July, now is expected to open up to traffic on July 22. The new Wilfred Avenue exit for southbound 101 is… Read More »

Hwy. 101 exit to Hwy. 37 closed at night

Thursday, at 3:27 by

Caltrans is closing the southbound Highway 101 offramp to Highway 37 from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday to Tuesday to allow crews to cut down trees along 101. The work, which goes from 8 p.m. to midnight, is the beginning of Caltrans’ project to widen 101 from Atherton Avenue to Highway 37. Caltrans also is closing the 101 offramp to South Novato Boulevard those nights as well. For people living near that area, Caltrans spokesman Bob Haus said in… Read More »

Fewer car pooling in Sonoma County

Thursday, at 6:01 by

As Highway 101 is being widened in Sonoma County to add a car-pool lane during commute hours, the number of commuters car pooling has dropped, according to Census Bureau data. The bureau’s American Community Survey of 2006-2008 found 26,176 workers car pooled, down from 28,283 in the 2000 Census. The number who drove alone to work was 167,959 in 2006-2008, down slightly from 168,134 in 2000. (Total Sonoma County workers for both periods were about the same, 224,947 in 2000… Read More »

The ‘e’ is back in Steele Lane

Tuesday, at 6:00 by

The “e” is back in Steele, as in the Steele Lane exit sign hanging over southbound Highway 101 from the Bicentennial Way overpass. Caltrans apparently first learned that the sign was misspelled “Steel Lane” last December — see photo above — after inquiries from the Road Warrior and The Press Democrat. To read a Press Democrat story on the error, CLICK HERE. Those inquiries apparently set Caltrans off on a mission to fix the sign, and it recently was. See… Read More »

Emergency Hwy. 101 work

Thursday, at 4:18 by

Caltrans this afternoon closed the far-right southbound lane of Highway 101 between River Road and Hopper Avenue for emergency road work and allowed all traffic to use the car-pool lane. Spokesman Bob Haus said the closure was to allow crews to shore up barriers and to clean out drains along the stretch north of Santa Rosa before a major rainstorm hits tonight or Friday. He said the work was planned for Wednesday night but equipment breakdowns delayed the work until… Read More »

Mailbag: Why all the dirt, Part 2

Monday, at 6:00 by

A few weeks ago, we answered a reader’s questions about the mound of dirt at Airport Boulevard and Highway 101 north of Santa Rosa. That prompted another reader to ask about the pile of dirt at Highway 12 and Farmers Lane. What’s it for? Caltrans spokesman Bob Haus says the dirt, which came from the widening of 101 between Santa Rosa and Windsor, was being saved to be used on the Wilfred Avenue overpass project in Rohnert Park. But he… Read More »

101 project officially complete — sort of

Tuesday, at 2:33 by

It’s official: The $120 million project to widen Highway 101 from Santa Rosa to Windsor is complete. Well, sort of. More than 50 local, county, state, federal and construction officials gathered Tuesday morning for the project’s official ribbon cutting ceremony, held at the Standard Structures plant in Windsor, adjacent to 101. The speakers, including Caltrans Director Cindy McKim, praised the various government agencies involved in bringing to fruition the widening project, under which the car-pool lanes opened a year ahead… Read More »

Hwy. 101 squeeze in Rohnert Park tonight, Friday

Thursday, at 5:45 by

Highway 101 will be down to one lane in each direction tonight and Friday night in Rohnert Park for the removal of construction debris — if the rains allow. Caltrans spokesman Bob Haus said the lanes will be closed 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. each night from Santa Rosa Avenue to Rohnert Park Expressway. He said he expects the work will happen unless it rains hard like last weekend. If it does, the work will be postponed. Haus also said… Read More »

Hwy. 101 getting taller in Cotati

Tuesday, at 10:52 by

As Highway 101 is growing wider in Cotati, it’s also getting taller. New overpasses being built at Highway 116 and West Railroad Avenue are several feet higher than the old ones, which will be torn down and rebuilt higher as well. “The two new overpasses there are being raised just in order to raise the clearance below,” Caltrans spokesman Bob Haus said. “Trucks have gotten a little bit bigger over the past 55 years since that highway first opened up.… Read More »

Sonoma County, get ready for metering lights

Wednesday, at 11:29 by

Traffic on Highway 101 must be getting pretty bad because metering lights are in our future. Caltrans has been installing metering lights — basically stop-and-go lights that regulate the flow of traffic onto freeways — in Rohnert Park and along the newly widened stretch of 101 from Santa Rosa to Windsor. Caltrans spokesman Bob Haus said the department will study traffic patterns on the upgraded stretch sometime early next year and then meet with local transportation officials to decide how… Read More »