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Caltrans outlines immediate safety closures and decades‑long corridor plan for South of Salinas
Summary
Caltrans District 5 said it plans to close left turns at 11 intersections on the South of Salinas corridor with temporary barriers by March 1 as an immediate safety step, and detailed a longer corridor project (interchange relocations, frontage roads) that will undergo environmental review in 2027 and could begin construction around 2031 if funding and permitting align.
Caltrans District 5 described a two‑phase approach to longstanding safety problems on the South of Salinas corridor: near‑term access‑management closures and a longer corridor reconstruction that relocates interchanges and adds frontage roads.
"We will basically close the median at all 11 of those intersections and no more left or U turns at this time," Meg Henry, a Caltrans project lead, told the Salinas audience. She said temporary metal‑beam median barriers and right‑in/right‑out movements would remain, and Caltrans has worked with CHP and fire agencies to ensure emergency openings are included.
Henry said the agency had completed design and received a budget allocation for the safety project and hoped to advertise for construction contracts this fall, with a target to have temporary barriers installed at the 11 intersections by March 1 to reduce a documented annual average of about one fatality and 13 severe‑injury collisions in the corridor. She also said Caltrans added specific local improvements based on community feedback, including auxiliary storage on the Chular southbound off‑ramp and a new stop at Main Street requested by Supervisor Lopez's office.
On the longer horizon, Henry described an environmental study for a full corridor improvement that would relocate the Chular and Abbott interchanges, build local frontage roads and address at‑grade railroad crossings. She said Caltrans expects to circulate a draft environmental document in early 2027 and aim for a final environmental document by the end of 2027; a construction start around 2031 is the current planning target but could move earlier with successful funding.
Caltrans also announced public outreach plans, monthly social media updates and at least two public open houses (Chular and Salinas) tied to the draft environmental release. Henry urged attendees to amplify outreach and prepare for traffic pattern changes if temporary closures proceed.
What this means for Salinas: expect short‑term traffic pattern changes on the corridor, near‑term construction activity related to temporary barriers, and a multi‑year planning and environmental process for an extensive corridor reconfiguration.
