Transit officials are seeking public input on Highway 68 corridor improvements.

Having just released a draft environmental impact report on planned improvements to the Highway 68 corridor, transportation officials are now hosting a series of public hearings to present their plans and receive feedback from residents.

Caltrans and the Transportation Agency for Monterey County have drawn up designs meant to alleviate congestion and improve safety on a nine-mile stretch of the highway linking Salinas to the Monterey Peninsula. The plans revolve around modifying nine intersections between Josselyn Canyon and San Benancio roads – with officials deliberating between converting the signalized intersections into roundabouts, or keeping the signals and expanding the intersections by adding turn lanes that would merge onto the highway. There would also be five new underground culverts that would act as wildlife crossings, taking the total number of culverts along the highway to eight with the goal of reducing traffic collisions with wildlife.

While transit officials previously held an open house on the project in July, the new meetings are meant to canvas formal input from the community on its environmental impacts along the scenic route, as well as informal thoughts from residents and commuters on the plans in general, says TAMC principal engineer and project manager Doug Bilse.

“We know there’s a call for action because there’s so much congestion and crashes that occur [on Highway 68], but we also have to do it environmentally sensitively,” Bilse says. “It’s a beautiful corridor and we don’t want to ruin what makes it a special place.”

In addition to a meeting at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Nov. 15, there will be a Spanish-language hearing at the Salinas Police Activities League on Thursday, Nov. 16, and a meeting at the Monterey Conference Center on Wednesday, Dec. 6, that is geared toward the region’s hospitality workforce. All of the hearings take place from 3-7pm.

The public can also provide input by phone or email, while TAMC is launching an interactive online map where people can drop a pin on a location and leave comments.

The deadline for public comments is Jan. 8; officials hope to finalize the EIR by November 2024, Bilse says. Construction likely won’t commence until early 2028 and is dependent on state grant funding that would supplement $50 million in local Measure X funds. Phase 1 of the improvements would focus on the eastern stretch starting at San Benancio Road.