Major 101 upgrade in the works

Commuters who crawl up the Conejo Grade each morning may finally have reason for cautious optimism: regional planners are moving forward with a sweeping, decades-long overhaul of U.S. Highway 101 covering 27 miles between Thousand Oaks and Ventura — one that officials are calling one of the most consequential transportation projects for the area in a generation.

For Agoura Hills residents, the corridor is a lifeline. The 101 is the main route connecting this city to jobs, family and recreation to the west in Camarillo, Oxnard and Ventura, and any change to how the freeway flows through the Conejo Valley ripples directly through daily life here — in commute times, in freight movement, and in the regional economy tied to the highway.

The The Acorn (Agoura Hills) reported that Amanda Fagan, director of planning and sustainability for the Ventura County Transportation Commission, briefed the Thousand Oaks City Council on Sept. 15 on two main alternatives under consideration by VCTC, Caltrans, Ventura County and the cities along the affected stretch.

“Time reliability is a really important driver of this project as it aims to help reduce the uncertainty of travel time within our county,” Fagan said, describing the effort as “arguably one of the most important transportation projects in our community in a generation.”

Two options on the table

The first alternative would add one high-occupancy vehicle lane in each direction between Moorpark Road in Thousand Oaks and near California Street in Ventura, while keeping all existing general-purpose lanes. It would also add auxiliary lanes between certain on- and off-ramps — a design move intended to reduce the weaving and sudden merges that create bottlenecks at closely spaced interchanges familiar to anyone who drives the corridor regularly.

The second alternative would be similar, but with additional fixes: possible adjustments to the alignment of the Conejo Grade, attention to a known southbound bottleneck near Dawson Drive in Camarillo, and ending the northbound HOV lane south of California Street to improve operations. Fagan told the council the second option “reduces average travel times, density, delay and improves average travel speeds.”

Importantly for property owners, officials said all existing lanes would remain open during construction, avoiding the need to acquire homes or businesses — though one property containing a shed would be affected.

A 2031 start — “basically tomorrow” in transportation terms

Funding is currently programmed for construction on the first phase to begin in 2031. That may sound distant to drivers stuck in today's traffic, but as Fagan put it, in the transportation world “it’s basically tomorrow.”

The project is being paid for through a patchwork of sources, including Surface Transportation Block Grant funds, State Transportation Improvement Program funds and the state’s Solutions for Congested Corridors Program. VCTC has been building toward this since planning began roughly in 2013.

“So we’ve been saving all of our pennies up in the collective piggy bank since about 2013 to pay for that first phase,” Fagan said.

VCTC Executive Director Martin Erickson explained to The Acorn why a county is footing much of the bill for improvements to a state-owned highway. Thirty or 40 years ago, he said, the answer would have been simple: the state would have paid. But Caltrans relinquished some control over project design to local authorities, and with that shift came the cost — counties that want upgrades must fund them, while Caltrans continues handling freeway maintenance. Fagan noted that counties with local transportation taxes are often favored when state funds are appropriated, a factor in how Ventura County competes for dollars.

Questions about the future of driving

Not everyone on the Thousand Oaks council was convinced the plan looks far enough ahead. Councilmember David Newman asked whether the project reflects California’s mandate to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, noting that vehicles will likely “look rather different and be powered differently” by the time the project is completed over a projected 20-year timeline. He asked whether budget had been allocated for accommodations such as electric roadways that charge vehicles as they travel.

Fagan said no such plans or special accommodations are currently included. She also acknowledged that because initial planning began in 2013, recently adopted city general plan updates were not specifically factored in, though projected population changes were considered.

What happens next

The process is now entering its public phase. VCTC is preparing to circulate the alternatives for community input and anticipates selecting an option this winter. The environmental impact report — which will also be open to public comment — is expected to be released sometime in 2027.

Residents interested in the details can find project information at goventura.org/our-future-101.

For Agoura Hills, the stakes are practical. The city sits at the gateway to the corridor on the Los Angeles County side, and thousands of local residents commute westward each day through the very stretch being studied. While relief is years away — and the biggest changes would land west of the county line — the decisions made this winter and the environmental review that follows will shape how the region moves for the next several decades.

Public comment periods like the ones ahead are typically the best opportunity for residents on both sides of the county line to influence which alternative is built, and how.