Proposed Highway 68 Improvement Plan includes up to 11 roundabouts

Traffic on Highway 68 between Salinas and the Monterey Peninsula has reached a tipping point. Transportation planners want to improve congestion and safety on the heavily traveled roadway, which is one of the two key routes between Salinas and the Monterey Peninsula.

As many as 30,000 cars travel on that road every day. The Transportation Agency for Monterey County said it’s trying to find ways to improve the busy roadway.

Rob Knopf a resident of Salinas said, “I know when the busy times are, so I try to stay away.”

“At commute time it’s horrendous,” said Sharon Field of Salinas.

Transportation planners studied traffic patterns and found three major issues, but the main issue is congestion.

“Easily see upwards of 25 to 30-thousand cars every day on that road,” said TAMC Transportation Planner Grant Leonard. “If something happens on the road on any given time that will lead to more backup, more congestion.”

Transportation officials said the roadway is also “unreliable,” meaning the commute time is not consistent. They also said stop lights pose a safety hazard.

“If you’re traveling on a highway and you suddenly have to come to a red light that could lead to some issues of delayed stopping, or people not stopping fast enough, more fender benders or people going through the lights having collisions that way,” said Leonard.

TAMC officials expect traffic to get ten percent worse over the next 25 years.

TAMC looked at three possible solutions. The plan calls for a series of roundabouts. The first one would be at Blanco road. The 11th and final roundabout would be at Highway 68 and Josselyn Canyon Road.

The plan also calls for restricting left turns out of side streets and driveways and adding six crossings for wildlife. TAMC said people support the idea of improving the road while preserving the scenic nature.

“We’ve done a lot of public outreach, we’ve had an online interactive website that people give us comments to, we’ve gone to a lot of community groups and service organizations and we’ve answered a lot of phone calls and emails about the plan,” said Leonard.

Some residents said they would still like to see more done.

“I’d like to see two full lanes on each side,” said Sharon Field.

“Maybe add a couple more lanes but I don’t think that could happen. I don’t know, maybe look at some of the lights, where they should be placed,” said Knopf.

The cost for the roundabout projects is estimated at $48 million. The voter-approved Measure X, would help pay for some of the construction. The TAMC Board of Directors will talk about the plan at their August 23 meeting. If the plan is approved it will still be a couple of years before it starts.