Keep inclusive highway plan on right track

The need to fix the Highway 101-Interstate 580 interchange should be obvious every late afternoon when commute traffic headed for the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge backs up onto northbound 101.

But coming up with a design and getting enough money to get it built have been obstacles to making progress to get this growing traffic problem fixed.

It’s a regional problem that deserves regional funding. Both have been committed to get this project built. It is, after all, not just a traffic headache for those stuck on 101, but for those who have to endure the jam to reach the bridge.

Besides relieving congestion on 101, the direct connection to I-580 would provide a convenient alternative for those who now use Sir Francis Drake Boulevard or Canal neighborhood streets.

The Transportation Authority of Marin is taking the lead in designing the project and, based on response from community forums, there are four working alternatives.

TAM needs to continue to work with the community and the San Rafael City Council to winnow that number. If not, it must make sure that each gets a thorough evaluation in the environmental reviews the project will require.

Proposals to instead focus on widening Drake just don’t make sense, given the cost of acquiring the necessary real estate and environmental constraints of the waterfront route.

Besides, from a trafficmanagement standpoint, it makes more sense to have a freeway-to-freeway interchange.

TAM appears to have worked to make sure residents and businesses in the Canal neighborhood, on both sides of Highway 101, have a say in the design. In some of the blueprints, there will be a need to acquire property for the new road and residents should have a say in how, functionally and visually, the design affects their neighborhood. Its benefits should outweigh any possible negative impacts.

It’s a regional problem that deserves regional funding.

TAM’s leaders should avoid letting this project meet the same disappointing fate of its now-shelved controversial plans to fix the Sir Francis Drake-Highway 101 interchange.

The goal is to keep the plan moving toward approval of a final design and construction starting in 2030. That seems to be a long wait for fixing a longstanding problem, but it’s still important that this project stays on track toward becoming a reality.