The “US 101 North County Mobility Master Plan” a comprehensive multimodal corridor plan (Corridor Plan) following the California Transportation Commission’s August 2024 Congested Corridors Program Guidelines for the US 101 in north San Luis Obispo (SLO) County. The Solution for Congested Corridors Program objective is to fund projects of all modes designed to reduce congestion in highly traveled and highly congested corridors through performance improvements that balance transportation improvements, community impacts and provide environmental benefits. Projects that emerge from this plan will be eligible to participate in the 2026 Solutions for Congested Corridors Program in future fund cycle, with next being fiscal years (FY) 2027-28 and 2028-29 (Cycle 5 and beyond).
The purpose of this study is to reflect the latest project and analysis information developed for the northern portions of the US 101 and SR 46 (east Urban) corridors and to ensure that this information is consistent with the latest State planning guidelines governing corridor studies in California.
The Corridor Plan has been prepared for, and coordinated with, the County of San Luis Obispo, the Cities of Atascadero and Paso Robles, the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) and Caltrans.
The Corridor Plan focuses on evaluation criteria of Safety, Accessibility, Community Engagement, Air Quality/GHG in order to synthesizex33 capital projects totaling $306 Million in current day planning level estimates; and $350 Million in future escalated planning level estimates.
The following are links to key study materials: The US 101 North County Multimodal Corridor plan (Corridor Plan) is available here>>
Discussion
The purpose of the Corridor Plan is to identify a sustainable package of multimodal transportation improvements that best address both local and regional mobility priorities and needs within the US 101 and SR 46 (East Urban) corridors in northern San Luis Obispo County (See Figure 1 for Corridor Plan Study Corridor.)
The Corridor Plan builds upon previous corridor studies and plans by incorporating needs and concepts from each that address the regional mobility issues identified in this study; including already completed, planned, and programmed improvement projects. While US 101 and SR 46 are State facilities that predominantly serve motorized vehicles, the overall corridor serves pedestrians, bicycles, and transit users. The Corridor Plan evaluates the performance of the corridor also including parallel routes/frontage roads following the State multimodal corridor planning guidance best practices. Project Website – http://www.us101northcountymmp.com/
The Corridor Plan establishes programming priorities and an implementation plan that recognizes the need for partnerships in funding consistent with the US 101 Business Plan prepared by Caltrans D5. The Corridor Plan will inform future programming decisions and multimodal investments in the US 101 and SR 46 (east) corridors in San Luis Obispo County. It will also serve as the requisite multimodal corridor study for seeking additional funding through competitive grant funding programs. An independent effort lead by Mark Thomas Associates will investigate strategic investment solutions for the highest priority infrastructure needs identified in the Corridor Plan. A coming white paper will be presented on said approach in April.
The plan includes a comprehensive technical study of parallel routes and frontage roads. The major deliverables for this project are corridor analysis, comprehensive public outreach, summary and analysis of projects, planning level cost estimates for new projects, Benefit: Cost Analysis, public input & project website.
Project Leadership
The Corridor Plan was administered and managed by the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG).
At the beginning of the study, SLOCOG convened a Working Group with representation from the following agencies:
- San Luis Obispo Council of Governments
- Caltrans
- San Luis Obispo County
- City of Atascadero
- City of Paso Robles
The Working Group was charged with providing technical oversight and direction, reviewing consultant interim deliverables, providing input on the needs and priorities of their respective jurisdictions, and ultimately participating in the consensus building process to recommend the multimodal improvement packages for consideration by the SLOCOG Board. During the development of the plan, the Working Group met typically on a bi-weekly basis
Study Area
The Corridor Plan study area includes US 101 from the crest of Cuesta Grade to the San Luis Obispo/Monterey County Line (approximately 32 miles) and SR 46 from the US 101 east to Jardine Road in Paso Robles (approximately 5 miles). This includes frontage roads, local parallel roadways, interchanges and ramp intersections. It also includes access points for non-motorized transportation including portions of intersecting crossroads between US 101 and SR 46.
For population demand assessments, the area within ½ mile of any study facility was also considered within the study area. The study corridor traverses two incorporated cities and three unincorporated communities, and includes 20 interchanges, 32 bridges and an estimated asset valuation for National Highway System and State Highway System pavements and bridges in excess of $1.4 Billion. At grade intersections are generally located in three areas of the corridor: in the northernmost section of the county, between Paso Robles and San Miguel, and just north of San Luis Obispo to Cuesta Grade.
For additional information about the plan contact: John DiNunzio, SLOCOG, Regional Transportation Planner, [email protected]