Santa Rosa begins Sixth Street undercrossing

A long-delayed Santa Rosa project to reconnect Sixth Street decades after it was severed by Highway 101 is scheduled to begin Monday.

What is now a fenced-off dirt depression beneath the highway will by mid-October once again be a roadway linking the east and west sides of downtown.

"In general, the neighbors are ecstatic," said Allen Thomas, vice president of the West End Neighborhood and Historic District. "It's going to be a really huge benefit to them to have the undercrossing put through."

Heavy equipment will begin demolishing the old concrete roadway followed by rough grading that should take about a week, said David Montague, supervising engineer for the city.

That will be followed by more precise excavation of the site in preparation for the new roadbed. The new section of street will have signals at both ends, wide sidewalks, decorative lamp posts, landscaping and bike lanes in each direction, said David Vandeveer, an associate civil engineer for the city.

"It will be good for bicyclists," Vandeveer said.

The project will cost about $1.3 million, less than expected in part because of the good bidding climate for construction work, Montague said.

The city pushed for CalTrans to reconnect the street as part of the two-year, $111 million freeway widening project that began downtown in 2006. The agency built the overpass, but didn't have the money to complete the road improvements.

The city secured a $492,000 federal transportation grant and $200,000 in state transportation funding through the Sonoma County Transportation Authority.

The city now-defunct Redevelopment Agency kicked in $100,000 and the balance will be funded by gas taxes.

There won't need to be any detours around the site during construction, but traffic at times will be restricted to one lane around the site, Vandeveer said.

"There will be some minor slow downs, but they'll always be able to get through," Vandeveer said. "There shouldn't be any problems."

While neighbors are pleased to see work progress, some are worried about the safety of the intersections, particularly where southbound 101 traffic exits onto Davis Street. Drivers, many of whom race down the ramp at 60 mph or more, will now have to stop sooner at the new Sixth Street signal, Allen said.

"We're very concerned with the rate of speed that people are exiting the freeway," he said.

But Davis street will be widened as part of the project, ensuring there is enough room for cars to stop at the light safely without backing up onto 101. That combined with the new signals and crosswalks should make the intersection safe, he said.

"A lot of good traffic control is in the works here," Vandeveer said.