Southbound Arata off-ramp to be built in next year

Northbound on-ramp still off in future; some concerned
project won’t relieve traffic on Highway 101
By PETE MORTENSEN, News Editor
Over the past several years, the Windsor Town Council has been
reluctant to begin work on the second phase of the Arata Lane
interchange with Highway 101. The first phase of the project,
completed and opened in April 2001, served a more critical function
from a traffic perspective, taking pressure off the Central Windsor
exit, which had become so congested that drivers were backed up
onto the freeway during rush hour.
&#8220In the past, all those cars would have to get off at
the Central exit and make their way through, and it was really a
problem,” Mayor Sam Salmon said. &#8220That’s why it was done
in phases. (CalTrans) knew we had that problem down at the
off-ramp, and we now don’t have cars that I know of backing up on
the freeway.”
But as part of a cooperative agreement with CalTrans signed in
1996, Windsor was required to finish the interchange with a
northbound on-ramp and southbound off-ramp within three years of
finishing Phase 1. Phasing the interchange allowed Windsor to use
its money in the short term for other projects, Councilmember Lynn
Morehouse said.
&#8220I appreciate the fact that CalTrans has been willing
to work with us,” she said. &#8220If we’d had to do everything
all at once, we would have taken a huge hit and not been able to do
other projects in Town.”
The terms of the original cooperative agreement were revised,
further phasing the interchange project. During 2004, Windsor
reached a verbal agreement to split the second phase into two
parts: 2A, the southbound off-ramp, and 2B, the northbound on-ramp.
On March 15, the Council passed a resolution authorizing a new
cooperative agreement to begin construction of Phase 2A and state
the Town’s intent to later build 2B. If all goes according to plan,
the project will be put out to bid in May and start construction in
July for completion next January.
Town Engineer Richard Burtt said the project has $1.13 million
available to fund it, more than $800,000 of it coming from Town
traffic mitigation funds and the balance from federal highway
funds. The northbound on-ramp, which Burtt said is &#8220at
least a couple years away,” is estimated at more than $3 million
down the road.
&#8220It’s probably time to face the music and build the
thing,” Councilmember Steve Allen said. &#8220I think it’s
going to be a useful exit. It’s not like it’s going to be
unused.”
With Sanderson Ford intending to relocate its dealership just
north of where the southbound off-ramp would exit with drivers from
Healdsburg, the exit will benefit businesses as well, Allen said.
But the area is not Windsor’s greatest area of traffic need by any
definition.
&#8220From the standpoint of Sanderson Ford, it needs to be
in place,” he said. &#8220If we had a wide-open choice, ‘Hey,
would you like to spend the money at Arata or spend the money at
Shiloh?’ maybe that would be different, but I don’t think we have
that option available to us at this point.”
At least one person who has served as Mayor in Windsor is
pleased to see the Arate interchange’s next phase constructed.
Former Mayor Marjorie Smith, who lives on Old Redwood Highway north
of Arata Lane, had a portion of her property condemned in 1996 to
accommodate the southbound off-ramp. And the land has just sat
there for 10 years with no further improvements.
&#8220They’re finally fulfilling their obligation,” she
said. &#8220We’ve been sitting there with that big pile of dirt
all those years.”
Smith made a habit of appearing at any Council meeting that
considered anything to do with the interchange to encourage the
off-ramp to be completed. She said on more than one occasion that
people were using the area as a dump. The difficulty in getting the
project is evidence why it’s necessary to go ahead with projects in
a timely fashion, Smith said said.
&#8220With roads and pavement and streets, we never have
enough money to go around and do it all,” she said. &#8220When
you start delaying projects and thinking you can maybe do something
else instead, it gets more costly. I’m happy to hear that they
finally went through with it.”
In ideal circumstances, Morehouse said, the completion of the
Arata interchange would not be her highest priority.
&#8220To me, Jaguar Lane was the one I thought we could do
quickly and easily and it could provide traffic relief that people
would notice,” she said. Morehouse said she sympathizes with
residents who would like to see the Shiloh interchange fixed.
&#8220It probably does get frustrating (to citizens) when you
have a master plan and and you’re doing the part of it most people
feel aren’t going to serve as big an area.”
If the Arata interchange needs to be full-service, Salmon said,
it’s too bad it can’t be a complete cloverleaf system. The
Southbound on-ramp is actually located west of Starr Road more than
a half-mile from the northbound off-ramp. The new exit will be
located just north of the existing on-ramp.
&#8220We argued for a cloverleaf, but there’s just too much
going on in terms of significant wetlands that made it almost
impossible to do,” Salmon said. &#8220And then the highway
design with Arata going under, the whole set-up just didn’t work
out. It’s always better to have ons and offs all in the same place.
We look forward to it.”
As it prepares to spent almost $1 million just to bring the
Arata interchange to 75 percent completion, Windsor leaders have
their eyes on Shiloh Road. The over-crossing at the exit is two
lanes wide and has no traffic signal on its west side, making it
all but impossible for drivers to make a left and head east to the
shopping center when traveling from the north. Many drivers during
rush hour head west to Conde Lane in search of a turn-around
point.
&#8220It’s just an older overpass that doesn’t accommodate
the uses,” Salmon said. &#8220Now it does, we don’t have the
problems now, but I’ve seen people try to walk over the overpass. Š
It’s not something you want to walk around on. It’s dangerous.”
Many of Windsor’s traffic woes are symptomatic of Sonoma
County’s problems all along the Highway 101 corridor. The Airport
Boulevard exit just south of the Town is a major bottleneck that is
experiencing back-up onto the freeway, and Salmon said some drivers
head up to Shiloh just to avoid the airport exit.
&#8220It’s an uneasy feeling to be out on the freeway and
not moving,” he said.
Major improvements are moving head all along 101 from Santa Rosa
north, including the airport exit, but Windsor would have to pay to
replace the Shiloh overpass, Allen said.
&#8220It’s going to be on us,” he said.
And in the meantime, major work on 101 south of Windsor is set
to begin any day now.
&#8220You take a deep breath when the Santa Rosa project
hasn’t begun and everyone is having anxieties,” Salmon said.
&#8220It’s such a mess now, but it will get worse.”