Pretty much anyone who has lived in the Bay Area any length of time and has done some driving on 101 north to Sonoma County is familiar with the infamous forever traffic situation you run into right at the Marin-Sonoma border.
For those living in Sonoma County, especially those who regularly have to drive south to Marin County or San Francisco, you can imagine the waking nightmare of this constant traffic snarl, which stemmed from a freeway construction project that has been ongoing for as long as anyone can remember.
As we noted last month, it has actually been going on for 30 years, with Sonoma County slow-walking the project due to lack of funds, causing the construction to stop and start over the years, and leading many to wonder what the fuck was taking so long as they watched hours of their lives tick away in stop-and-go traffic.
The project to widen what was once essentially a rural road began in the 1990s and was accomplished in phases, the last of which being the infamous Marin-Sonoma Narrows, the section of 101 between Novato and Petaluma where both the northbound and southbound roadway once shrank from three lanes down to two. This 16-mile stretch had several pinch points remaining until Monday morning, when, as the Press Democrat reports, the Marin-Sonoma Narrows project was officially completed, and some closed right-hand lands were opened to traffic.
The opening happens after the summer rush of vacationers and tourists heading to wine country and points north, but what's an extra few months after most drivers have literally cursed at this section of freeway for the majority — or the entirety — of their adult lives.
The 58-mile project was only chopped up into 13 phases and spread over three decades.
Technically, the 16 miles of new HOV lanes between Marin and Sonoma counties have been under construction for 14 years, as the Marin Independent Journal reports, at a cost of $762 million. And a rep for Caltrans, Matt O’Donnell, tells the paper that "There is still work on the project, but the three-lane configuration is complete." Because of course there is.
That work will include paving, final striping, signing, and drainage work, O'Donnell says.
"We realize it’s taken a lot of persistence and patience and teamwork to get here, and there is still some work out on the corridor being completed,” said Anne Richman, executive director of the Transportation Authority of Marin, in a statement. "But we are very pleased to have reached this milestone."
And Marin County Supervisor Eric Lucan, the chair of the Transportation Authority of Marin board, tells the Marin IJ, "Decades in the making and many millions of dollars later, we can finally retire the ‘narrows’ moniker in Marin and Sonoma. This huge milestone exemplifies our ability to compete for funds and deliver big projects that will have a tangible daily impact in the lives of every resident."
The new carpool lane hours for this stretch of freeway are 5 to 10 am and 3 to 7 pm on weekdays in both directions.
Photo via Google Street View
