MENDOCINO Co., 6/3/18 — CalTrans will begin work on a realignment of Sherwood Rd., where it meets Willits’ Main St., tomorrow night, with the removal of several trees. The project will occur from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. and will result in one way traffic control and some delays.
This marks the beginning of a much larger project that will see a complete re-construction of the intersection of Sherwood Rd. and Main St., and is part of an even more significant project occurring now, throughout downtown Willits, as anyone who has walked or driven in the city knows. Altogether these projects constitute a set of upgrades to Main St. that CalTrans must make before transferring control and ownership of Willits’ Main St. back to the city, in the wake of the completion of the Willits Bypass.
Expect construction to continue through the end of the the summer.
As for the details of the creatively named “Sherwood Road Realignment Project,” they are quite substantial, and include making the street broader, the grade flatter, and the intersection more square. They will do this by cutting into the neighboring hillside, taking up an additional .55 acres. Hopefully this work will reduce some of the traffic and traffic-accidents that as so frequent there. The details are laid in this excerpt from this CalTrans project study:
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) proposes to realign the existing Sherwood Road intersection with U.S. 101 in Willits. Currently, Sherwood Road intersects U.S. 101 at a horizontal angle with a 12% grade, with two 12 foot lanes, no shoulders, and short left and right turn pockets. The proposed project will re-align Sherwood Road to intersect U.S. 101 perpendicularly, add a 4-foot wide right shoulder and include an 8-foot wide vehicle pullout along the east side of the road, include a retaining wall along the west side of the new road, reduce the grade on Sherwood Road to 10%, increase the length of the left and right turn lanes on Sherwood Road from about 15 feet to 200 feet, and improve the signalized intersection with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance. The acquisition of new State right of way will be required (approximately 0.55 acres).
Sherwood Road Realignment Project, from Caltrans.
Both projects were scheduled to commence after the completion of the bypass. More information about the current work is available on CalTrans’ Willits Bypass blog.
Here’s the full announcement from Caltrans’ official Willits Bypass website, which also includes updates about work on the Main Street project in Willits:
One of the final pieces to the relinquishment agreement between Caltrans and the City of Willits is scheduled to begin on Monday, June 4. The Sherwood Road Realignment Project will improve the function of this high traffic volume intersection.
The first order of work will be vegetation removal on the hillside next to Sherwood Road. The tree removal will occur at night between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. in order to reduce impacts to traffic. One-way traffic control will be in effect with short delays.
Mendo Voice Staff, [email protected]
