Tree Removal Project to Affect Homes Near 101/37 Interchange

An ongoing tree removal project along Highway 101 is going to get pretty close to some residences in the Crossroads/Cheda Knolls area of south Novato starting Friday night, according to Caltrans spokesman Robert Haus.

Southbound 101 to the eastbound Highway 37 connector ramp will be closed from Friday through Tuesday along with the southbound offramp to South Novato Boulevard, Haus said. The closure hours will be 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Notices have been sent to residences along Plumas Circle, Seascape Drive and Fairhaven Way just west of where 101 and 37 meet.

“Caltrans realizes that tree removal is a noisy operation, which is why we decided to limit the hours of operation to four hours per night,” a release reads.

The tree removal is part of a project to widen 101 between Highway 37 on Novato’s south side and Atherton Avenue on the north side, a stretch of about 3 ½ miles. New high-occupancy vehicle lanes, commonly called diamond lanes, will be constructed this summer to reduce congestion and encourage the use of public transportation, Caltrans said. The construction is expected to last two years.

The existing HOV lanes run from Highway 37 south to Highway 1 in the Mill Valley/Sausalito area.

In the past few weeks, crews have cut trees closer to Atherton Avenue on the north end of the project, officially called the Marin-Sonoma Narrows Project. In all, 150 trees will be removed.

When construction is finished, the areas where trees were cut will be re-landscaped, Caltrans said. In addition, 28 new trees will be planted in nearby riparian areas.