Vision Zero State Street Undercrossing Project Shifts Construction to West Side of State Street

Press releases are posted on Independent.com as a free community service.

SANTA BARBARA, CA – June 18, 2024

Construction on the west side of the Vision Zero State Street Undercrossing Project (Project) will begin in mid-June 2024 and continue for approximately ten months. This phase of the Project will widen the raised sidewalk on the west side of State Street. Access for vehicles and cyclists will be maintained in both directions during construction, which will occur Monday through Friday between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

The construction occurring on the east side of State Street between Gutierrez and Yanonali Streets is nearing completion. The sidewalk on the east side of the undercrossing will reopen for pedestrian access, with minor construction activity wrapping up.

This Project connects the City’s two most active transportation-oriented neighborhoods, Downtown and the Waterfront, improving safety and appropriately rebalancing space for vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists on State Street between Yanonali and Gutierrez Streets. The Project includes the following infrastructure enhancements:

• Wider sidewalks on each side of State Street, from 8 feet to 15 feet.
• Wider on-street bike lanes with a two-to-three-foot protected buffer.
• New pedestrian safety lighting and protective railings, reconstructed bridge columns to improve safety and aesthetics, new plantings in the upper planters, irrigation repairs, and street tree removal and replacement.
• Modifications to the intersections at State and Gutierrez Streets and State and Yanonali Streets to reduce crossing distances for pedestrians.
• One vehicle lane in each direction, a painted median for emergency access, and reconfigured turn lanes at both Yanonali and Gutierrez Streets.

Construction of the Project is anticipated to be completed in the summer of 2025.

We appreciate your continued support and patience. For more information about the Project, email StateStUndercrossing@SantaBarbaraCA.gov or visit the Project website at SantaBarbaraCA.gov/StateStUndercrossing.