New Hearn Avenue overcrossing in Santa Rosa opens

The $43.7 million Hearn Avenue Highway 101 Overcrossing Replacement Project in Santa Rosa featuring two traffic lanes in each direction, two barrier-separated bicycle lanes, and sidewalks lining each side of the overpass is now open.

Caltrans, the Sonoma County Transportation and Climate Authorities (SCTCA), and the City of Santa Rosa held a ribbon cutting earlier this month to celebrate completion of the project.

“Change is what we are celebrating,” said Doanh Nguyen, acting Caltrans District 4 director. “This is an overcrossing that reduces traffic congestion, encourages walking and cycling, and connects communities rather than separates them."

Ghilotti Construction was the contractor on the 20-month project that involved complex, sequenced construction and demolition phases, requiring the removal of one overcrossing and the construction of another in its place while keeping traffic flowing.

The new structure improves upon the original 1957 design which contained only one lane in each direction and a single narrow sidewalk. Doubling the traffic lanes will lead to much less congestion on the overcrossing and solve the lingering problem of backups on southbound Highway 101 as motorists formerly waited for traffic to slowly clear on the crowded exit ramps.

The new overcrossing is also taller, which complies with new regulations to allow taller trucks to pass beneath. The new overcrossing also increases safety for cyclists who shared lanes on the old structure with motorized vehicles. The north side of the new overcrossing features a westbound bicycle lane, separated from traffic by bollards, while the south side of the overcrossing features a two-way bicycle lane, separated from traffic with a concrete median and bollards.

The bicycle lanes and the new full-size sidewalks, make this project an prime example of Caltrans’ Complete Streets Program, which adds multimodal upgrades to new projects when feasible.

The project was first envisioned in the 1990s and became feasible in 2004 when Sonoma County passed Measure M, a quarter-cent sales tax to fund transportation improvements. In 2020, voters approved extending Measure M.

The SCTCA contributed $17.2 million through Measure M funds, and the City of Santa Rosa contributed $9.4 million. The project also received $17 million in state funds, $8.6 million through the Senate Bill (SB) 1 LPP competitive program, $5 million through SB 1 Local Partnership Program (LPP), and $3.4 million from the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) programmed by MTC.