California State Route 156 Improvements

[andy3175]

A plan for a toll road has been floated for funding the expressway/freeway gap on State Route 156 between US 101 and SR 183 (near SR 1). Monterey (along with Santa Cruz) may well be among the largest cities in California currently not served by a freeway connection to the rest of the state (yes, there are freeways in both Monterey and Santa Cruz, but currently none of those freeways connect as freeways to the rest of the state freeway network. If SR 156 were upgraded to freeway, Monterey would be connected by freeway to the rest of the state.) Here's an article from May 2013 on SR 156 freeway toll upgrade:

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_23271705/toll-road-bay-area-highway-156-stretch-candidate

It's just a 4-mile stretch of country road, but Highway 156 is a vital link between the Monterey Peninsula and the Bay Area -- and now it could become the first toll road north of Los Angeles.

In a report released Thursday, the Transportation Agency for Monterey County says converting the outdated two-lane Highway 156 into a nearby four-lane toll road between Highways 1 and 101 could be mostly paid for by modest tolls, ranging from $1.60 to $2.50 a trip.

That would cover most of the $268 million in construction costs and other safety improvements along the 156 corridor. And most of the improvements could be completed in less than a decade, compared with the current 30-year-plus time frame.

Toll roads dot much of Southern California, from Highway 125 on the Mexican border to several in Orange County between Corona and Irvine.

Now, officials across the state are busily converting carpool lanes into express lanes, where solo drivers with FasTrak devices can buy their way into diamond lanes. They now exist at the 237-880 interchange in Milpitas and on southbound Interstate 680 through Fremont. Work is underway along Interstate 580 in the Livermore Valley and express lanes will spread throughout the South Bay over the next decade on Highways 85, 237 and 101.

But toll roads are in another league, as all drivers must pay. Tolls would be collected electronically with FasTrak and no tollbooths would be used.

Officials in Monterey County see toll roads as a way to efficiently move farm products to the rest of California and keep tourists coming to their coastal towns, beaches, restaurants and wineries -- and get them home safely.

Highway 156 was built in 1963, when John F. Kennedy was president and many cars lacked seat belts. Today, the collision rate on 156 is about 21 percent higher than the state average for a similar road. And in 2011, of the 40 fatality wrecks in Monterey County, 21 of them occurred in the 156 area.

"We need to do something about this problem (on 156), but our funding sources are very limited," said Debbie Hale, executive director for the Monterey County transportation agency. "Caltrans approached us and suggested we partner to evaluate the feasibility of tolling as a way to build the project in our lifetimes."

Regards,
Andy