Boronda Congestion Relief Project: Safer roads for growing community

Published on April 08, 2025

The Boronda Congestion Relief Project is more than construction project- it's about creating safer roads, enhanced accessibility and preparing for future growth. With plans for new homes in the Future Growth Area, Salinas is preparing for an increase in population and traffic, ensuring Boronda Road is safely equipped to meet these demands.

Background

The current general plan identified the need to address the future demands on Boronda Rd. A study evaluated two options: a six-lane road with traffic signals verses a four-lane road featuring roundabouts. In 2017, The community, Santa Rita Union School District, Salinas Union High School District, and developers met to discuss the future needs of Boronda Rd. Approximately 70% of the participants were in favor of a roundabout over the 6-lane signaled option. The City Council approved the roundabout plan in May 2017.

The Boronda Congestion Relief Project

The Boronda Congestion Relief Project includes the widening of East Boronda Road from a two-lane roadway into a four-lane roadway. It also includes the construction of 4 multi-lane roundabouts at the intersections:

McKinnon Street

El Dorado Drive

Natividad Road,

Independence Boulevard

Phase 1 will construct the roundabout at the intersection of McKinnon Street, and other related improvements from Dartmouth Way to a point east of McKinnon Street.The first stage of that construction began in late November 2024.

Community Meeting

On March 6th 2025, the city hosted a community meeting at Mckinnon Elementary School to provide updates on the project and address resident concerns. Residents learned more about Phase 1, including information about pedestrian crossing during and after construction, and had the opportunity to ask questions.

One of the main topics discussed was the installation of roundabouts and the safety component. Roundabouts are designed to be pedestrian safety as they force drivers to slow down. The benefits of roundabouts include reduced accidents, reduced delays, fuel consumption, noise, and pollution. Here is a summary of the benefits:

Safety:

· Fewer severe crashes,

· Fewer fatalities

· Left turn and right-angle crashes are eliminated

Pedestrian Safety:

· Roundabouts have a split island – safety for pedestrians and bicyclists

· Crosswalk and flashing lights are included (High-Intensity Activated Cross-Walk Beacon)

Time Savings:

· A 50% increase in traffic capacity

· Reduced delays compared to traditional signalized intersections.

Environmentally Friendly:

· Reduces pollution from vehicles not waiting at traffic signals

· Reduces noise

· Reduces fuel consumption and emissions

The City currently has three constructed roundabouts at East Alisal Street and Skyway Boulevard, East Alisal Street and Bardin Road and Alisal Road and Sconberg Parkway. We encourage drivers to visit these sites to gain a feeling for driving roundabouts. Though the Boronda Road roundabouts will be larger, the driving experience will be similar.

Construction Updates

Construction was temporarily halted in January 2025, due to multiple storms creating heavy rain and flooding of soils in the area,. Work is expected to resume in May or early June 2025 to allow sufficient time for soils to dry out and allow the required underground excavation and placement work to start again. In the meantime, we recommend everyone is signed up for our notifications and follows us on social media @CityofSalinas. We will have more information on this as we get closer to the meeting sometime in fall this year.