What is the US 101 South of Salinas Corridor Improvement Project?
The US Highway 101 South of Salinas project aims to enhance safety along an 8-mile stretch of US 101 between Salinas and Chualar. This corridor serves a wide range of traffic, including residents, travelers, and heavy regional agricultural transport. US 101 is the primary artery along California's Central Coast and plays a vital role in statewide commerce. It provides access from the Central Coast's agricultural operations to markets nationwide, linking Southern California to the Monterey Peninsula. The project will improve safety for residents, travelers, and agricultural employees and enhance traffic flow along US 101 from south of Salinas to Chualar.
Why is this project necessary?
Safety Challenges
The project area is currently constructed as an expressway with 11 at-grade intersections and two interchanges: one at Abbott St (partial left on/off ramps) and one in the community of Chualar. The lack of frontage roads means that agricultural trucks must use the highway to make local trips, adding to traffic congestion and forcing U-turns, left turns, and other tricky maneuvers on US 101.
Due to the increase in interregional travel, there are often insufficient gaps for trucks and vehicles to make safe cross-median left turns across US 101 at the at-grade intersections along the corridor. These conditions increase safety risks, collisions, injuries, and fatalities along this section of US 101.
Key Project Benefits
Project Timeline
