A kick-off to celebrate the start of a project to improve traffic flow on Highway 101 was held today next to the freeway in Burlingame. The project will add four and one-half miles of auxiliary lanes between Millbrae Avenue in Millbrae and Third Avenue in San Mateo. Plans call for the lanes to extend from county line to county line, a total length of 26 miles.

Auxiliary lanes reduce freeway congestion by providing a merging area for cars to enter and exit the freeway. The lanes are equipped with metering lights that are activated during commute hours, when traffic is heaviest. Mid-day, when the metering lights are turned off, local drivers can use the freeway for short trips to neighboring communities without having to merge into fast-moving traffic.

“We are thrilled to be moving forward with this key piece of the project,” said TA Chair and Redwood City Councilmember Rosanne Foust. “The pieces of this vital project are coming together.”

As part of the project, the Peninsula Avenue overcrossing will be widened from two lanes to four lanes and the entrances and exits to northbound U.S. Highway 101 will be reconfigured. The sidewalks will be widened, improving pedestrian access to the Coyote Point Recreational Area.

The Monte Diablo overcrossing will be rebuilt and a new pedestrian overcrossing will be built just south of the Broadway interchange.

In addition to reducing traffic congestion, auxiliary lanes reduce pollution and gas consumption. Before the introduction of auxiliary lanes, there were 1,200 accidents between Millbrae and the southern county line over a three-year period. When the project is completed, it is estimated that the number of accidents will be reduced by 20 percent.

To date, six and one-half miles of auxiliary lanes have been completed. In 1997, auxiliary lanes were built from Third Avenue to the State Highway 92 Interchange (1.5 miles). In 2001, the section from Hillsdale Boulevard in San Mateo to Ralston Avenue in Belmont (1.5 miles) was completed. In 2004, the lanes were extended from Ralston Avenue to Marsh Road in Menlo Park (3.5 miles).

The $150 million project is funded by a combination of sources, with the San Mateo County Transportation Authority contributing $80 million and Caltrans contributing $70 million.

Enacted by the voters in 1988, Measure A is a 20-year half-cent sales tax that has funded nine grade separation projects in the county and provided more than $138 million to cities in the county for local streets and roads. Voters overwhelmingly renewed the measure for an additional 25 years in 2004.