The work ongoing between Summerland and Carpinteria on Highway 101 got a $75 million transfusion from the U.S. Department of Transportation in the form of an innovative loan. Awarded on October 5, the loan targets 7.5 miles of carpool lanes along the highway, which is a portion of the major reconstruction work to add a third lane from Santa Barbara to Carpinteria since 2019.
The Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) secured the loan, which spokesperson Lauren Bianchi-Klemann said was a unique one as SBCAG could use only as much as was needed and no penalty came for early repayment. The loan was made at 4.02 percent per year.
In all, the 15-year project is adding not only a lane to the highway but also sound walls, creek crossing improvements, bike lanes, and rebuilt highway and railroad crossings at Sheffield Drive and Cabrillo Boulevard at a total cost of more than $1 billion. Additional funds come from Measure A, a half-cent sales tax ballot measure that passed in 2008 for what was billed as a "lane and train" project, among other sources. Bianchi stated Measure A has leveraged more than $500 million in funding to relieve traffic congestion and improve safety on the highway.