Date: Friday, June 5, 2026
District: 05 - Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties
Contact: Heidi Crawford or Ashton Harris
Phone: (805) 549-3318 or (805) 549-3138
HIGHWAY 1 SHOULDER WIDENING PROJECT BETWEEN ORCUTT AND GUADALUPE SET TO START ON MONDAY, JUNE 8
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY — A project to widen shoulders and improve safety on 13 miles of Highway 1 between Orcutt and Guadalupe is set to begin Monday, June 8.
Travelers will encounter one-way reversing traffic control Monday thru Thursday from 4 am to 6 am, and again from 8 am to 4 pm. Work on this project will begin on Hwy. 1 near the intersection with Hwy. 166 in Gudalupe and continue south toward Solomon Rd. in Orcutt.
Message and directional signs will alert travelers in advance of the areas under traffic control. The roadway will remain open to cyclists who will need to wait at flagging stations with other vehicles. Travel delays should not exceed 5 minutes. Please allow for extra time for your commute through the area.
About the Project
This project will improve safety by widening shoulders on the roadway to between 5 and 8 ft. wide, including at some locations where no shoulders are currently in place. Culverts under the roadway will also be extended, rehabilitated, or replaced to accommodate the newly widened shoulders.
Additional safety enhancements include installation of rumble strips to alert drivers if they are departing the lane. Fixed objects are also being moved to increase the clear recovery zone. Lastly, two curve corrections will raise the roadway in areas that historically flood, alleviating flood issues in the future.
The contractor for this project is Nationwide Contracting Services from Huntington Beach, CA. The project is expected to be completed in the Fall of 2027.
Road information and updates can also be found on Caltrans Central Coast District 5 Social Media Platforms: X at @CaltransD5, Facebook at: Caltrans Central Coast (District 5) and Instagram at: Caltrans_D5.
For information about transportation projects transforming communities throughout the state, visit: Build.ca.gov.
Our crews deserve to get home safely too.
Drive slowly and carefully in work zones.
CHP Traffic Incident Information Page: https://cad.chp.ca.gov/
Traveler Information at: https://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/
