Signs of the times

The orange cones and construction barricades are already coming down along parts of Highway 101 between Santa Rosa and Windsor. Contractors are checking off the last minor lane striping and electrical tasks.

Nearly all signs point to work winding down on the $120 million roadway expansion, which began in early 2009 and added a carpool lane to each direction of the nearly eight-mile stretch of highway.

But some of those signs appeared a bit too early.

Observant drivers may have noticed: New, permanent 65-mph speed limit signs went up, uncovered, more than a week ago, while the construction zone's existing, temporary 55 mph signs still stand.

Which one to obey?

Caltrans says the 55-mph limit still stands. The new signs were to remain veiled until mid-November, when the project is due to wrap up completely. The uncovered signs were an oversight, officials said.

"We're talking to the contractor. They have to be covered up," said Bob Haus, a Caltrans spokesman. "There are still people working out there."

Haus said Monday was the first time Caltrans had been notified of the sign conflict. He hadn't heard Monday when the new signs would go back under wraps.

In the meantime, CHP officials said officers would not be giving tickets to drivers obeying the higher speed limit while the signs remain visible.

"If that 65 sign is up and uncovered, then they can go ahead and go by that," CHP Officer Jon Sloat said. "We're not playing a gotcha game with the public. We want it to be crystal clear, and we're not going to be writing any tickets if it isn't."

The sign snafu notwithstanding, transportation officials said they were pleased to be closing in on completion of the highway project.

"It's a recognition that the facility is up to standards," Suzanne Smith, executive director of the Sonoma County Transportation Authority, said of the final steps of construction, including the installation of the permanent speed limit signs.

The new carpool lanes opened in December. The contractor, O.C. Jones and Sons of Berkeley, since has been repaving the rest of the roadway and ramps, working mostly at night.

The project, $82 million for construction and about $38 million for design and planning, was being paid for with a combination of local sales tax, state and local funds.

Construction on a separate project, a $45.8 million interchange and bridge at Airport Boulevard, is scheduled to begin in 2012 and to be completed in 2014.

By that time, interchange replacements and roadway widening Highway 101 from Windsor to Petaluma will have cost about $900 million and taken 21 years.