Highway 101: Carpinteria to Santa Barbara construction closures for holidays
SANTA BARBARA — As a result of the Highway 101 Carpinteria to Santa Barbara project, a new carpool lane in each direction between the two cities will force the following closures spanning over the time frame of Dec. 20 through Jan. 9.
Crews will not work on Dec. 24, 25, 31 and Jan. 1 for the holidays.
The Northbound Highway 101 closures include: one lane from N Padaro Ln. to Sheffield Dr. and the on- and off-ramps at Evans Ave., Ortega Hill Rd., and Shetfield Dr. on Sunday nights from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.; one lane from Bailard Ave. to Santa Claus Ln. from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.; one lane from N Padaro Ln. to Sheffield Dr. and on- and off-ramps at Evans Ave., Ortega Hill Rd. and Sheffield Dr. Monday through Thursday nights from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.; and the on-ramp at Casitas Pass Rd. on Dec. 23 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to allow for bridge repair work.
The Southbound Highway 101 closures include: Sunday nights, 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., one lane: Sheffield Dr. to N Padaro Ln. and Santa Claus Ln. to Casitas Pass Rd., off-ramp at Evans Ave., on-ramp at Wallace Ave.; Monday through Thursday nights, 8 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., one lane: Sheffield Dr. to N Padaro Ln. and Santa Claus Ln. to Casitas Pass Rd., off-ramp at Evans Ave., on-ramp at Wallace Ave.
The on-ramp at Sheffield Dr. will be closed for the duration of the project with an anticipated reopening in 2023. Drivers can use the southbound on-ramps at Wallace Ave. and N Padaro Ln.
The off-ramp at Sheffield Dr. will be closed for up to 16 months with an anticipated reopening at the end of 2021. Drivers can use the southbound off-ramp at San Ysidro Rd.
The on- and off-ramps at Reynolds Ave will also be closed for up to 16 weeks with an anticipated reopening at the end of January. Drivers can use the off-ramp at Linden Ave. and the on-ramp at Casitas Pass Rd.
The off-ramp at Casitas Pass Rd will be reopening Dec. 21. During the temporary closure, drivers can use the off-ramp at Linden Ave.
Consecutive ramps in the same direction will not be closed at the same time except for the southbound on-ramps at Sheffield Dr. and Wallace Ave.
Visit www.SBROADS.com to see detour maps.
— Grayce McCormick
Santa Maria residents pleads guilty to killing an elephant seal
LOS ANGELES — A former Santa Maria resident pleaded guilty Monday to a federal criminal charge for fatally shooting an elephant seal on a beach near San Simeon.
Jordan Gerbich, 30, and now a resident of Utah, pleaded guilty via videoconference to a single-count information charging him with taking a marine mammal.
In his plea agreement, Mr. Gerbich admitted to driving to an elephant seal viewing area adjacent to the Piedras Blancas Marine Reserve and Monterey Bay National Marine sanctuary near San Simeon on Sept, 28, 2019. He brought a .45-caliber pistol and, with a flashlight, shot and killed a northern elephant seal, which was discovered on the beach with a bullet hole in its head the next day.
Northern elephant seals are a protected species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. They live up and down the Pacific coast and haul out on land in areas called rookeries, which are typically populated with elephant seals year-round based on breeding and molting cycles.
U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer scheduled a sentencing hearing on April 12, 2021, where Mr. Gerbich is facing a statutory maximum sentence of one year in federal prison.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement investigated the matter with assistance from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather C. Gorman of the Environmental and Community Safety Crimes Section.
— Grayce McCormick
