PIP Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. When will construction start?
Construction is anticipated to begin in Spring of 2011, but the exact timing of each stage of construction will be determined by the Contractor and Resident Engineer over the life of the project. Additional information will be posted on as it becomes available.
2. How long will it take?
Construction will be completed in 2015.
3. Why are we doing this project?
The Prunedale Improvement Project was designed to address safety and operational concerns along the Highway 101 corridor between North Salinas and Echo Valley Road.
Over the last ten years, there have been nearly 2300 accidents along this 8-mile-long stretch of highway, resulting in close to 700 injuries and 22 fatalities.
The existing Route 101 Corridor within the project area is currently a 4-lane expressway with numerous at-grade intersections with both left and right-turn access. The combination of high speed through traffic on Route 101 conflicting with traffic trying to enter or exit the at-grade intersections provides a less than desirable operational and safety condition.
The Prunedale Improvement Project will improve safety and traffic flow by building a new interchange just north of the Russell / Espinosa Roads, an over crossing at Blackie / Reese Roads, and a new interchange at Echo Valley / Crazy Horse Canyon Roads.
There will also be changes at the existing San Miguel Canyon Road Interchange. A new lane will be added to the existing structure to improve traffic circulation at the interchange.
And, finally, after all the new interchanges and structures are completed the project will close the remaining gaps in the concrete median barrier from Boronda Road to Crazy Horse Canyon, resulting in one continuous barrier. This will remove the left turn conflicts throughout the entire 101 Corridor from Salinas to Echo Valley Road.
4. Has the original Prunedale Bypass plan been abandoned?
Funding for the larger Prunedale Freeway Project is a challenge. The Prunedale Freeway Project, which includes the bypass as an alternative, has not been abandoned and has been identified as the next phase of improvements to Route 101 in the Prunedale area.
5. Will the new interchanges be completed before the median barriers are installed? Otherwise access to local shopping will be virtually cut off.
Caltrans anticipates that the Crazy Horse/Echo Valley Interchange will be fully operational this fall, as part of the ongoing Prunedale Improvement Project (PIP). Additional news releases will announce any future planned closures of existing left-turn access to Messick Road and Tustin Road from Route 101.
6. From the look of things it seems like when this project is completed some people will have to go out of their way to get to (or across) Hwy 101 - sometimes several miles out of their way. Why wasn’t the convenience of the people who live in these areas considered? It seems as if travel for people going through the area was given priority over the travel patterns/needs of those who live in it.
It is true that when this project is completed access to Highway 101 will be less convenient for some than it was before; however, it will also be much safer than it was before.
Making it safe for local residents to move in and out of their community is the primary purpose of the Prunedale Improvement Project. By closing and consolidating some of the at-grade access (local roads and driveways) to Highway 101 we will reduce both the number of accidents in this corridor and the severity of them.
Several neighborhoods within the Prunedale Improvement Project limits will experience out-of direction travel when the project is completed. These locations include, but are not limited to, Mallory Canyon, Oak Estates Drive, Moro Circle, Linda Vista Place, Tustin Road, Messick Road, Pesante Road, Pollock Lane, Orchard Lane, White Road, and Martines Road. As a part of this project, Caltrans will be making some improvements to some local roads to help with the shifting travel patterns.
7. Won’t this project mean that emergency vehicles will have to go out of their way sometimes to respond to incidents?
Yes, fire trucks from the Pesante Road station will have out-of-direction travel that may increase response time to some areas of their district. Caltrans is working with the North County Fire Protection District of Monterey County to minimize those increases as much as possible.
8. Why doesn’t this project extend to the sometimes very heavily congested area near the Red Barn?
Throughout the Route 101 corridor, there are areas where need for improvement has been identified. The San Juan Road area has a high crash history and very high traffic volumes of over 63,000 vehicles a day. The 101/San Juan Road Interchange Project will remove three at-grade intersections (Dunbarton Road, San Juan Road and Cole Road) and construct one interchange near the Red Barn. The new interchange will help improve safety and reduce the congestion along this heavily traveled stretch of Highway 101. This project is expected to begin construction in 2013.
9. Will you be building sound walls along the project?
Caltrans is required to consider noise abatement at locations where the noise decibel increase is predicted to exceed acceptable levels.
10. What’s all that orange netting-like stuff we see now along Hwy 101 near Prunedale?
The orange netting is a type of fence that is put up to identify Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs) that need to be protected during the construction of the Prunedale Improvement Project (PIP), which begins construction this week. ESAs are defined as “any area in which plant or animal life or their habitats are either rare or especially valuable because of their special nature or role in an ecosystem and which could be easily disturbed or degraded by human activities and developments.” The ESA fencing minimizes effects to the natural environment.
The Prunedale Improvement Project is designed to address safety and operational concerns along the Highway 101 corridor between North Salinas and Echo Valley Road. At the same time, we also need to ensure the safety and continued viability of our state’s rare and valuable species and habitats. To do this Caltrans and Granite Construction, the contractor for the PIP, use biologists to do pre-construction surveys to identify creeks, and areas where rare and/or sensitive species and habitats are located. Then those areas are marked with the orange fence netting you see, so that those working on the project are aware that these areas are not to be disturbed. These biologists continue to be involved throughout construction, conducting onsite biological monitoring to maintain these environmentally sensitive areas.
The native plant species considered rare, valuable, and sensitive along the construction area include the Coastal Live Oak, Pajaro manzanita, Monterey ceanothus, branching beach aster, and the Monterey spineflower.
Sensitive animal species found in some of the ESAs include the southwestern pond turtle, which is a subspecies of the western pond turtle – the only native turtle in California; Red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Monterey dusky-footed wood rat, Cooper’s hawk, and yellow warbler.
Caltrans works with a number of regulatory agencies, including the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, California Department of Fish and Game and the Regional Water Quality Control Boards, to preserve California’s natural resources and assets, while providing a safe transportation system for all.
1. When will construction start?
Construction is anticipated to begin in Spring of 2011, but the exact timing of each stage of construction will be determined by the Contractor and Resident Engineer over the life of the project. Additional information will be posted on as it becomes available.
2. How long will it take?
Construction will be completed in 2015.
3. Why are we doing this project?
The Prunedale Improvement Project was designed to address safety and operational concerns along the Highway 101 corridor between North Salinas and Echo Valley Road.
Over the last ten years, there have been nearly 2300 accidents along this 8-mile-long stretch of highway, resulting in close to 700 injuries and 22 fatalities.
The existing Route 101 Corridor within the project area is currently a 4-lane expressway with numerous at-grade intersections with both left and right-turn access. The combination of high speed through traffic on Route 101 conflicting with traffic trying to enter or exit the at-grade intersections provides a less than desirable operational and safety condition.
The Prunedale Improvement Project will improve safety and traffic flow by building a new interchange just north of the Russell / Espinosa Roads, an over crossing at Blackie / Reese Roads, and a new interchange at Echo Valley / Crazy Horse Canyon Roads.
There will also be changes at the existing San Miguel Canyon Road Interchange. A new lane will be added to the existing structure to improve traffic circulation at the interchange.
And, finally, after all the new interchanges and structures are completed the project will close the remaining gaps in the concrete median barrier from Boronda Road to Crazy Horse Canyon, resulting in one continuous barrier. This will remove the left turn conflicts throughout the entire 101 Corridor from Salinas to Echo Valley Road.
4. Has the original Prunedale Bypass plan been abandoned?
Funding for the larger Prunedale Freeway Project is a challenge. The Prunedale Freeway Project, which includes the bypass as an alternative, has not been abandoned and has been identified as the next phase of improvements to Route 101 in the Prunedale area.
5. Will the new interchanges be completed before the median barriers are installed? Otherwise access to local shopping will be virtually cut off.
On August 1 Caltrans officials announced that the upcoming planned closure of existing left-turn access to Messick Road and Tustin Road from U.S. Highway 101 has been postponed.
In order to allow local residents the best available traffic circulation during construction, Caltrans and its contractor, Granite Construction, will not close the left turn access until the Crazy Horse Canyon Road/Echo Valley Road Interchange is open to traffic.
Caltrans anticipates that the Crazy Horse/Echo Valley Interchange will be fully operational this fall, as part of the ongoing Prunedale Improvement Project (PIP). Additional news releases will announce any future planned closures of existing left-turn access to Messick Road and Tustin Road from Route 101.
6. From the look of things it seems like when this project is completed some people will have to go out of their way to get to (or across) Hwy 101 - sometimes several miles out of their way. Why wasn’t the convenience of the people who live in these areas considered? It seems as if travel for people going through the area was given priority over the travel patterns/needs of those who live in it.
It is true that when this project is completed access to Highway 101 will be less convenient for some than it was before; however, it will also be much safer than it was before.
Making it safe for local residents to move in and out of their community is the primary purpose of the Prunedale Improvement Project. By closing and consolidating some of the at-grade access (local roads and driveways) to Highway 101 we will reduce both the number of accidents in this corridor and the severity of them.
Several neighborhoods within the Prunedale Improvement Project limits will experience out-of direction travel when the project is completed. These locations include, but are not limited to, Mallory Canyon, Oak Estates Drive, Moro Circle, Linda Vista Place, Tustin Road, Messick Road, Pesante Road, Pollock Lane, Orchard Lane, White Road, and Martines Road. As a part of this project, Caltrans will be making some improvements to some local roads to help with the shifting travel patterns.
7. Won’t this project mean that emergency vehicles will have to go out of their way sometimes to respond to incidents?
Yes, fire trucks from the Pesante Road station will have out-of-direction travel that may increase response time to some areas of their district. Caltrans is working with the North County Fire Protection District of Monterey County to minimize those increases as much as possible.
8. Why doesn’t this project extend to the sometimes very heavily congested area near the Red Barn?
Throughout the Route 101 corridor, there are areas where need for improvement has been identified. The San Juan Road area has a high crash history and very high traffic volumes of over 63,000 vehicles a day. The 101/San Juan Road Interchange Project will remove three at-grade intersections (Dunbarton Road, San Juan Road and Cole Road) and construct one interchange near the Red Barn. The new interchange will help improve safety and reduce the congestion along this heavily traveled stretch of Highway 101. This project is expected to begin construction in 2013.
9. Will you be building sound walls along the project?
Caltrans is required to consider noise abatement at locations where the noise decibel increase is predicted to exceed acceptable levels.
10. What’s all that orange netting-like stuff we see now along Hwy 101 near Prunedale?
The orange netting is a type of fence that is put up to identify Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs) that need to be protected during the construction of the Prunedale Improvement Project (PIP), which begins construction this week. ESAs are defined as “any area in which plant or animal life or their habitats are either rare or especially valuable because of their special nature or role in an ecosystem and which could be easily disturbed or degraded by human activities and developments.” The ESA fencing minimizes effects to the natural environment.
The Prunedale Improvement Project is designed to address safety and operational concerns along the Highway 101 corridor between North Salinas and Echo Valley Road. At the same time, we also need to ensure the safety and continued viability of our state’s rare and valuable species and habitats. To do this Caltrans and Granite Construction, the contractor for the PIP, use biologists to do pre-construction surveys to identify creeks, and areas where rare and/or sensitive species and habitats are located. Then those areas are marked with the orange fence netting you see, so that those working on the project are aware that these areas are not to be disturbed. These biologists continue to be involved throughout construction, conducting onsite biological monitoring to maintain these environmentally sensitive areas.
The native plant species considered rare, valuable, and sensitive along the construction area include the Coastal Live Oak, Pajaro manzanita, Monterey ceanothus, branching beach aster, and the Monterey spineflower.
Sensitive animal species found in some of the ESAs include the southwestern pond turtle, which is a subspecies of the western pond turtle – the only native turtle in California; Red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, Monterey dusky-footed wood rat, Cooper’s hawk, and yellow warbler.
Caltrans works with a number of regulatory agencies, including the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, California Department of Fish and Game and the Regional Water Quality Control Boards, to preserve California’s natural resources and assets, while providing a safe transportation system for all.
