Highway 12 repaving through Sonoma begins in October

A month-long repaving project on Highway 12 through Sonoma will begin this week. However the state’s transportation department, Caltrans, has not yet approved the Sonoma City Council’s plans to restripe Broadway, adding protected bikes lanes, enhanced crosswalks and other safety measures.

The work, which will cover a 3.8-mile stretch from Boyes Boulevard in the Springs to Leveroni Road in Sonoma, is part of a $7 million Caltrans revitalization project for Highway 12.

Preparatory work for the project getting underway this week, with crews digging out and restoring areas of cracked or broken paving. The prep work is expected to last through Oct. 1.

Caltrans will begin replacing the asphalt on Oct. 4. Working in sections, crews will grind away the old asphalt and add a fresh layer in its place. After paving is complete, Caltrans will begin striping the highway and adding loop detectors, which are wire loops in the pavement that detect vehicles waiting at traffic signals.

Caltrans is still reviewing a request to Caltrans to restripe portions of Broadway, according to Sonoma Public Works Director Colleen Ferguson. The reconfiguration would narrow the distance of crosswalks and add buffered bike lanes between the sidewalk, in addition to a parallel parking lane that would be adjacent to moving traffic.

On Aug. 2, the council voted 3-1 to also ask Caltrans to narrow the number of lanes on Broadway’s approach to Napa Street from five to three to help make room for the bike lanes. Traffic studies conducted on Broadway in recent years have shown that a reduction in lanes would have a negligible effect on traffic flow, according to the City of Sonoma. If approved by Caltrans, the price of restriping will be paid for by the City of Sonoma, estimated to cost $41,700.

Work on the repaving portion of the project is expected to last throughout October, with the bulk of it taking place at night so as to not interfere with daytime traffic.

The repaving of Broadway is tentatively scheduled for the third week of October, with striping taking place in November, said Ferguson.

For more information, visit sonomacity.org/broadway-restriping.