State Approves $29 Million in 101 Upgrades Near Redwood Landfill

Highway 101 is going to get $29 million worth of improvements near the Redwood Landfill just north of Novato now that money has been allocated from the state.

Caltrans announced May 24 that a new interchange and frontage roads would be constructed near the dump as part of $872 million in funding from Proposition 1B, a transportation bond approved by state voters in 2006.

"The next step is going out to bid," said Caltrans spokesman Bob Haus. "Once we select the contract, we can get to work. We're looking at starting construction this fall."

Frontage roads are to be added between the landfill, owned by Waste Management, and the entrance to Olompali State Historic Park on the west side of 101 and to the Mira Monte Marina driveway on the east side, Haus said. The west side frontage road will extend north toward Petaluma to connect with San Antonio Road near the Marin-Sonoma county line. Pedestrians and cyclists will have access on the frontage roads.

Factoring in some time off during the nastiest winter weather, the project should be complete by the summer of 2015, Haus said.

"It wasn't a problem for a long time, but in this day you really need to upgrade from a highway to a freeway so there is a provision in there for bikes and pedestrians," he said. "We've been looking at this for a long time. The environmental phase of the project was completed in 2009."

Haus predicted that traffic wouldn't be affected that much during the construction because lane closures would be limited to only the heaviest of jobs and done at night.

In 2005-2006, Waste Management spent $7.2 million to build a flyover and improve safety at the landfill entrance and exit. For years, vehicles (often huge trucks) leaving the dump and heading southbound had to get onto northbound 101 and cross oncoming traffic before quickly merging with the fast-moving flow of southbound traffic.

About 85,000 vehicles pass the landfill every day on 101, according to Caltrans.

Meanwhile, a $50 million project to add a carpool lane in each direction of 101 through Novato is reaching the halfway point of its construction schedule. Ground was broken in July 2011 on the two-year job to add a three-mile northbound lane from Highway 37 in the south to Atherton Avenue in the north.   The 1 1/2-mile southbound lane will run from Novato Creek , just south of the De Long exit, in the north to Highway 37 in the south.