Caltrans got one step closer to its controversial $500 million project to widen Highway 37, a notoriously trafficky corridor, with an infusion of funding Thursday. But critics said the money could be wasted as rising tides are expected to flood the low–lying highway within decades.
On Thursday, the California Transportation Commission approved $73 million toward the plan, which calls for widening Highway 37 between Sears Point in Sonoma and Mare Island in Vallejo from two lanes to four. Caltrans said the project will greatly reduce congestion on a highway used by 47,000 daily. However, the highway is also expected to be inundated by rising tides by 2050, threats that will not be addressed by the project, Caltrans said. Instead, the agency has a separate $10 billion plan to elevate and protect the highway in the future.
The $73 million grant was part of a large package of 24 highway projects. In 2023 the Commission approved $50 million toward the first phase of the project, which will involve replacing a bridge west of Highway 121. The current grant willgo toward widening the eastbound side of the highway, creating a new toll lane and turning the existing lane into a carpool lane. Phase two is estimated to cost $251 million and to be completed by late 2029. Expansion of the westbound lane would follow…