County to chip in for environmental review of widening Hwy 1 in Pacifica

Pacifica has moved one step closer to Calera Parkway Project—widening Highway 1 between Fassler Avenue and Westport Drive. The San Mateo County Transportation Authority has approved $1.2 million toward an environmental review.

The project has been in the works for 18 years.

The last step in what the environmental review process — which precedes the engineering process, the bidding process and eventually, the construction process — will focus on gaining approval from federal and state regulatory agencies, such as the California Department of Fish and Game, the California Coastal Commissionand U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said Transportation Authority spokesman Jonah Weinberg.

No doubt, many Pacificans are hoping that the review will jump-start the highway widening — but some wish that the regulatory agencies will put the kibosh on the proceedings. Leading the charge against construction is the Sierra Club, which believes that expanding Highway 1 will infringe upon a coastal zone inhabited by such endangered species as the red-legged frog and the San Francisco garter snake.

Opponents are also concerned that the highway widening will fuel development on Pacifica’s hillsides that will eliminate any traffic congestion relief.