Travelers between Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties are soon going to find themselves facing a very different trip on a section of Highway 101, one which will be jarring at first for commuters.
The two southbound lanes on a section of the highway between Carpinteria and Ventura are going to be separated to allow a repaving project to take place safely.
To allow work to take place safely, Caltrans is going to install a more than four-mile-long bypass lane on Highway 101 from Mussel Shoals to Faria Beach.
The bypass will cross over the center median, with one of the northbound lanes temporarily converted to southbound traffic. K-rails will be installed to separate northbound and southbound traffic.
There will be no exits from the bypass lane.
A second southbound lane will remain open with on and offramps at Seacliff. But again, the two southbound lanes will be separated from each other.
It’s expected the bypass lane will be in place from April 22nd until next January.
When work is completed on the southbound lanes, a similar temporary bypass will be installed on the northbound side of the 101.