A major project at Highway 156 in Castroville risks losing funding due to delays.

Highway 156, the important artery that connects the Monterey Peninsula to Highway 101, regularly clogs with traffic. One piece in a puzzle to improve traffic flow as envisioned by transportation officials is a project to remove the only traffic light on the highway, at the intersection with Castroville Boulevard, and replace it with an interchange that includes ramps.

The $47.5 million project is now at risk of losing $28 million in funds from the California Transportation Commission and getting shelved after multiple delays. A May 1 deadline came and went for the Transportation Agency for Monterey County to have the project ready to go out to bid while waiting on officials from Pacific Gas & Electric to complete an analysis of a gas transmission facility and two electric facilities – a final project plan needs to take into account potential right-of-way issues and whether PG&E will need to relocate any infrastructure, but that determination first requires an engineering analysis.

“Because Pacific Gas and Electric is not being responsive and working on their issues in time, we are missing that deadline,” says Todd Muck, executive director of TAMC.

Mayra Tostado, a spokesperson for PG&E, says the utility relocation effort is in its early stages and they are waiting on Caltrans. (Caltrans first contacted PG&E in October of 2021 about the need to move utilities.)

The project has been in the works for over a decade and this section is the first and lowest-cost part of the Highway 156 corridor overhaul. Previous delays came at different stages such as obtaining a developing permit from the California Coastal Commission while balancing Santa Cruz long-toed salamander protections.

The price tag for project construction has increased from an original estimate of $29.5 million about four years ago to $47.5 million. (The CTC agreed to share the increased cost with TAMC by upping its contribution from $20 million to $28 million.)

Muck says increases in cost are not unusual, but that this is a significant margin. The state funds from the CTC are critical; TAMC has requested a one-year extension that commissioners are scheduled to vote on when they meet June 28-29.

“If they don’t agree, we’ve lost $20 million and we can’t afford to do the project,” Muck says.

The project is also funded in large part by TAMC, and on May 24, the TAMC board voted to allocate an additional $10.4 million of Measure X funds to cover its share of the increased project cost.

County Supervisor Glenn Church says this project has been a priority for North County for a long time because it will alleviate congestion on a major entry and exit road, impacting not just visitors but locals. The project includes three roundabouts, bicycle paths and sidewalks, to serve not just drivers but also cyclists and pedestrians.

If the 156 interchange project does get another extension, PG&E must complete its utility relocation plans by December.