NORTH BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL EVENT

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Tuesday, August 26, 2008, 8-10:45 a.m., Napa Valley Marriott, Napa

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September 25, 2008, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Doubletree Hotel, Rohnert Park

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Chamber summit to address congestion on Highway 101

NORTH BAY – Business representatives and a range of local, state and federal officials are scheduled to meet at a summit on Sept. 18 to discuss the future of the proposed Narrows widening project and other Highway 101 improvements in Sonoma and Marin counties.

The meeting will be hosted by the Petaluma Area Chamber of Commerce and the Petaluma Argus Courier.

Organizers say the summit is aimed at discussing ways to secure the more-than $300 million in additional funding needed for the projects and to help coordinate the range of public agencies working on portions of the projects that are already funded.

Efforts to reduce congestion along Highway 101 were boosted this spring when the state allocated more than $235 million in Proposition 1B bond money for widening and new carpool lanes along several stretches of the highway between Windsor and central Marin County.

“Now that the dust has settled on 1B, it appears that we have continued high-occupancy vehicle lanes all the way from Pepper Road [south of Cotati] to Windsor and all the way from the Richmond Bridge to northern Novato and a little beyond that,” said Mike Healy, a Chamber director. “The one remaining gap is north Novato to north Petaluma.”

The stretch of Highway 101 between Novato and Petaluma, known as the Narrows, requires more extensive work than the other North Bay project sites because it is the only part of the road that is sub-freeway grade. It includes several road-crossings that must be moved or upgraded to freeway-style interchanges before more lanes can be added.

Mr. Healy said that while only about half of the projected $600 million-plus price tag for the Narrows has been funded, the project will bring important benefits to the local economy.

“It’s not so large as to be undoable,” he said.

The summit is from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Snowy Egret room at the Petaluma Sheraton. For more information, call 707-762-2785.

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