Train, Bus & Ferry Service During HWY 101 Closure

UPDATE 1/21/18: Highway 101 is now open.

Local Resource Assistance Center Open: Representatives from Federal, State, Local and non-profit agencies are on site to provide resources such as housing assistance, counseling support, information to aid in rebuilding, permitting, loss of business and/or employment, hazardous materials cleanup, basic health and human services resources, and other issues that have impacted people from the unprecedented back to back disasters. www.countyofsb.org/asset.c/3757

Older Updates

According to a Caltrans update on Jan. 16th at the January Storm Community Meeting, Caltrans anticipates that another 6 days of work are needed to open the highway, i.e. anticipating an opening on Monday, January 22nd. Update 1/19/18: A hopeful highway open date has been shifted to Thursday, January 25th, but Caltrans still does not have a set date. They have 200 trucks clearing debris and silt, and while earlier this week, water continued to seep onto the highway and get trapped while drainage systems were still blocked, it is now looking much drier! Crews are inspecting pavement, guardrails, and bridges to make sure everything is safe before the highway opens again.

For all information on this incident, see the County Storm Info Page: www.countyofsb.org/january-storm-info.sbc and the January Storm Community Meeting video on the County’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/countyofsb/videos/1587232941365229/.

Train Services During Hwy 101 Closure

Amtrak Pacific Surfliner FAQ’s and schedule of the new train starting the 20th: http://pacificsurfliner.com/Service-Alert/#FAQs

2,000 more seats were added to the Pacific Surfliner train service on Saturday the 13th since it’s the only viable ground transportation between Ventura/Carpinteria and Santa Barbara during the Hwy 101 closure. Trains that normally have 6 passenger cars are now traveling with 8 or 9. **UPDATE 1/19/18 A new round-trip is being added on the 20th which will leave Ventura at 10:14 and arrive at the SB Station at 11AM, then return south leaving SB at 12:07 PM. On all trips, there’s standing room only, and tickets are selling out, so buy early. Bikes are only allowed by reservation, which can be booked with your ticket, but space is usually limited to 6 per train. Buy tickets at Pacific Surfliner and Amtrak.com.

Please note, ongoing delays are likely as trains travel through the affected areas. Follow @PacSurfliners on Twitter for live updates and the Pacific Surfliner Service Alert.

FREE Last-Mile Shuttle Buses from SB & Goleta Train Stations

To help serve the influx of train commuters during the 101 closure, MTD is offering a FREE Shuttle serving the Santa Barbara & Goleta Train Stations.

The SB Shuttle will pick up at the State & Yanonali shuttle stop on the Train Station side of State Street and will serve MTD’s Downtown Transit Center. Two shuttles will serve the Goleta Station: one will run between the Goleta Station and Hollister at Palo Alto (Citrix Campus) & one will run between the Goleta Station and Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital. There is no set schedule during the day but the shuttles will loop continuously to allow passengers to arrive at the station early.

All 3 shuttles will run beginning Jan. 16th with the first northbound train arrival mid-morning until 7pm. The buses’ headsigns will say “Special Shuttle”.

Follow SBMTD on Facebook and Twitter.

Emergency Ferry Service between Ventura and Santa Barbara

In cooperation with Island Packers, Condor Express is offering shuttle transportation to and from Santa Barbara Harbor to Ventura Harbor for the duration of the 101 Freeway road closure. Times, ticket info, and directions are listed at Condor Express.

Driving Detours

There are no local detours around the Highway 101 closure. Drivers need to use Hwy 46 (safer option with two lanes in each direction and a median) or Hwy 166 (congested and only one lane in each direction) to connect between Highway 101 and Interstate 5.

There are no bike or walking detours through Montecito

Yes, Hwy 101 is closed, but so are the roads through Montecito — it’s a Mandatory Evacuation Zone (which includes the Public Safety Exclusion Zone). This means no traffic on foot or bike is allowed.

Other Transportation

Santa Barbara Airbus: Bus service to and from LAX from the Santa Barbara region is still operating. Santa Barbara Airbus is offering 5 trips from Goleta to LAX and 5 trips from LAX to Goleta every day, using the US-101-SR-166-I-5 detour. (The Santa Barbara and Carpinteria stops are not being served, so travelers must use the Goleta stop.) Their modified schedule is here.