Editorial: Highway 37 overhaul needs realistic solution

Transportation officials need to make diligent progress in coming up with a solution for the overhaul of Highway 37 that is realistic.

There’s not much debate whether an overhaul of Highway 37 is long overdue.

Regular traffic jams on the mostly two-lane highway, recent long-term closures due to flooding, studies that show the highway is sinking into its bay mud base and warnings about rising tides should be more than enough to justify taking a look at redesigning the 21-mile link between Marin and Solano counties.

Add to that a steady increase in the number of motorists and businesses that rely on the state route.

Officials are studying a variety of designs and routes. The one that appears to enjoy the most support, including from environmental forces, is turning the highway into a four-lane elevated causeway, similar, but much longer than the one that links Davis and Sacramento.

That’s a long-term solution, but officials are also weighing possible short-term remedies — including widening a 10-mile wide stretch that is currently limited to two lanes.

State and regional transportation agencies — encouraged by the availability of state and federal funds — are looking into widening the highway, between Sears Point and Mare Island — to four lanes, including a commuter express lane in each direction.

The work would also include widening the oft-jammed Tolay Creek Bridge.

Officials estimate widening the existing road could cut 26 minutes to a half-hour from traffic jams motorists now endure. That’s significant. The work could be completed by 2026, compared to an elevated causeway that may take billions of dollars and decades to build.

The question is whether it makes sense to spend millions now on installing asphalt that’s going to be removed when a long-term fix is completed.

Environmentalists have been supportive of the elevated causeway plan because they see the potential for restoring the baylands and ecosystem now blocked by Highway 37.

A big factor in the state’s decision is that widening of the existing highway is likely going to face stiff opposition from environmentalists whose steadfast objections in the past have kept Caltrans’ widening plans on the back burner.

Adding new lanes to Highway 37 was a possible answer to the highway’s one-time history as a scene of deadly headons. Due to environmental hurdles, the IJ teamed up with local state and federal leaders in getting a median safety barrier installed.

Besides, given a likely battle with environmental forces, the 2026 date for completing interim widening may be overly optimistic.

In addition, Rep. Jared Huffman, who would be instrumental in bringing federal funds to the causeway plan, says the interim widening could politically undermine chances for getting federal cash that would be vital for building an elevated causeway.

A sober look at those factors in the study underway by Caltrans and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission could be decisive. Officials need to make diligent progress in coming up with a solution that is realistic — financially, politically and environmentally.