The Windsor-to-Geyserville Highway 101 paving project is on schedule, according to Caltrans, but unexpected field conditions have caused the cost to rise.
The project includes new bridges, culverts and paving, as well as improved barriers, on and off ramps and shoulders, on 101 between the Central Windsor exit and Canyon Road at the north end of Geyserville.
The project began in May of last year, paused for the rainy part of the winter, and resumed this spring.
According to State Assemblymember Jim Wood’s office, the project is still expected to be complete by the end of 2018. Much of the work has, and will continue, to take place at night, with rolling lane and ramp closures.
Wood’s legislative aide, Christian Vierra, wrote in an email Friday that the original budget for the project was $67.7 million and has since risen to $73.6 million.
Vierra wrote that information he received from Caltrans is that the increased costs were due to changes that had to be made during the project, including a fix for cracked bridge approach slabs, upgrading 3.5 miles of concrete median barriers and upgraded shoulder and drainage work.
The project, named “The Big Pave” when it launched last year, is in two parts. “Big Pave 1” is the current section between Windsor and Geyserville. “Big Pave 2” will commence in November 2019 and redo the highway between Geyserville and Cloverdale.
