CityofGoleta
By the City of Goleta
The City of Goleta is pleased to share that the California Transportation Commission recently allocated $11.4 million of State Transportation Improvement Program funding to construct the Ekwill Street and Fowler Road Extensions Project (Ekwill-Fowler Project).
This is the largest capital improvement project to date for the City, and it has been in the planning development stage for many years. This revenue, along with other City funding, allows the City to now advertise for construction bids, which the City anticipates occurring in late spring of this year.
The Ekwill-Fowler Project will construct a new road, the Ekwill Street extension, across Old Town Goleta from Kellogg Avenue to Fairview Avenue. It also extends existing South Street (and renames it Fowler Road) to Technology Drive. The new streets will have one travel lane in each direction, Class II bike lanes, sidewalks and landscaped parkways will extend along both roadways. In addition, the project will construct intersection capacity improvements (roundabouts) at the Pine Avenue intersection with Ekwill Street and at the Hollister Avenue and State Route 217 ramp intersections.
City of Goleta Public Works Director, Charlie Ebeling said, “The City has been working diligently over the last fifteen years to complete the project development and property acquisition phases of this very complex project and get the project ready for construction. The California Transportation Commission allocation represents a critical funding milestone towards the objective of starting construction in 2023.”
“Congratulations to the City of Goleta on their recent $11.4 million allocation by the California Transportation Commission for the Ekwill Street and Fowler Road Extensions Project,” said Marjie Kirn, Executive Director of SBCAG. “This significant investment in infrastructure by the state not only helps to improve safety on roads and bridges but will also enhance access for pedestrians and bicycles in the area. We look forward to seeing the positive impact of this investment in our community which has allowed for this much anticipated project with the City of Goleta to move forward.”
At the February 21, 2023, City Council meeting, Council awarded a professional services agreement to provide construction management for the project. Construction is expected to begin in late summer or fall 2023.
Learn more about the Ekwill-Fowler Project here. For questions, contact the contract Project Manager, Gerald Comati, at gcomati@com3consulting.com.
The graphics shown here do not show the Ekwill project at all, just the roundabouts on Hollister by the freeway to UCSB. This should be re-posted showing the actual plot plan of the Ekwill Street project.
This is a great start and a big step for the future development of Goleta. However, there is a glaring missing component to these improvements. Until these new roads are extended across the 217 which will require an overpass, they will not be able to replace the lanes that are scheduled to be closed on hollister ave in old town. Goleta is facing self-inflicted traffic gridlock as soon as the hollister lane closure is implemented that will be a hazard to public safety and put the brakes on economic activity for old town businesses.
Click on the pictures….