Highway 101 construction extensive in Salinas, comes with unexpected problems

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) Crews were laying down new panels on Highway 101 between East Market Street and North Main Street Friday morning. They said it was needed because the old panels were cracked and deteriorating.

But the panels are not being replaced throughout the entire highway. Crews said they’re working on the road in segments and different parts of the highway call for different approaches and types of material. For example, the open parts, with no bridges or overhangs, get asphalt because it’s thick. It can only be used when there’s no concern about limited space and cars getting stuck under bridges, for example. There’s also the concern about cost.

“It was cheaper to put the asphalt in in these particular areas, but where we have the overhead sign and the overhead bridges, the concrete is put in there because it’s got a longer life span,” Senior Construction Inspector Ken Shaner said. 

So concrete has a longer life span, but it's also more expensive.

The lanes will continue to close between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. for this construction, but they will be open during the day.

On Wednesday night, police reported a fire near the work site. It was initially reported as a brush fire, but that turned out not to be the case.

Subcontracted crew members at the site said there's an equipment yard near Laurel Road on the southbound side. They said some kids tried to steal one of the pieces of equipment from that area and they ended up targeting a pickup truck.

“I don’t know all the details, but apparently they were unsuccessful in stealing it, so apparently they set it on fire,” Shaner said.

Shaner and another crew member said that, as far as they know, those kids used gasoline to light the truck on fire. KION reached out to Salinas Fire Department for more information and is waiting on the details.