Napa Valley Register-Officials kick off Jameson Canyon/Highway 12 widening

Work is officially under way to ease the 6.3 miles of twists, turns and traffic congestion known as Jameson Canyon.

A crowd of local legislators â€" and a few protesters â€" gathered Wednesday morning near the roadway to break ground on the Caltrans-led Highway 12-Jameson Canyon Widening Project, which officials say will greatly improve the popular link between Napa County and Highway 80.

The goal of the $135 million project is two-fold: to relieve commuter congestion and to improve safety. Over the next three years, the roadway will be expanded from two lanes to four and a center barrier will be installed to prevent the higher-than-average frequency of head-on collisions the roadway has seen in recent decades.

The work is split into two parts. The first, on the Napa County side of the roadway, is expected to be completed by late 2013. Officials hope the Solano County work, complicated by excavation through hillsides and construction of a retaining wall, will be complete by 2015.

Many of the legislators on hand Wednesday said they are regularly among the estimated 35,000 vehicles that travel the road daily.

“This turns into a parking lot twice a day,” said Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, pointing at the Highway 12 traffic from a podium at Reata Winery overlooking the roadway. “That's wasted fuel, that's dirty air, that's lost productivity. And it's been a safety disaster.”

“This project is going to change all that,” Thompson said.

Napa County Supervisor Keith Caldwell, whose district includes Jameson Canyon, said he personally responded to several fatal head-on collisions on Highway 12 during his years with the American Canyon Fire Department.

“There have been some horrific head-on accidents on this road,” Caldwell said, “sometimes resulting in the loss of whole families.”

A twisting two-lane road with many sharp turns along hillsides, Jameson Canyon has seen a number of fatal collisions, including two incidents since August 2011, and a crash in 2010 that killed a family of four.

“You are always on high alert when you are on this road,” said Rep. John Garamendi, D-Walnut Grove, whose district includes the Solano County side of the project. “Now you'll still need be on high alert, but it will be a much safer road.”

“This has been a long time in coming,” said Napa County Supervisor Bill Dodd, in acknowledging the partnership of the Solano Transportation Authority, the Napa County Transportation and Planning Agency, the California Transportation Commission, Caltrans and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

Commuter traffic, which often backs up to Highway 29 on the west side and Interstate 80 to the east, will flow much smoother once work is completed. Malcolm Dougherty, Caltrans' acting director, said commutes will be cut in half once work is completed, but pleaded for patience during what will be a long construction project.

“Please slow down during construction,” Dougherty said. “It will help everyone.”

Advance work started several months ago, causing some overnight delays. As construction ramps up, Caltrans is warning travelers to plan extra time and will update detours and closures as they approach. Changeable message signs will also provide travel information along the route. Some residents along the roadway will need to show identification to gain access to their property.

Caldwell was quick to credit the cooperation of nearby property owners, especially on the Napa County side, who recognized “the needs of the many outweigh that of the few.

“No amount of compensation makes up for having a four-lane highway on your front door, but we were able to acquire all the property needed without any eminent domain requests.”

While some property owners were cooperative, others expressed concern Wednesday, protesting the lack of a stoplight they say is necessary. A group of about 10 residents held picket signs in the Reata Winery parking lot and complained that they were not properly notified of the plans.

“Caltrans never notified us,” said Vicki Maples, a Ranch Road resident along the Solano-Napa border. “We have about 40 homes being affected by this.

“We will have to go across two lanes of traffic (to merge at a turnaround). Caltrans says the average speed of a driver here is 40 m.p.h. ... In your dreams.”

The residents, many of whom live on Spurs Lane in Solano County, said they wanted a traffic light installed to assist the turnaround that will be necessary to get to Interstate 80 once a cement barrier separates east- and west-bound traffic.

From the podium, Solano County Supervisor Jim Spering looked in the direction of the protest group when he said, “Caltrans will make sure the safety features work for you.”