LIVE OAK, CA (MPG) - Drivers may have noticed the lack of signs, cones, and otherwise closed lanes as they make their way through the City of Live Oak on the Highway 99 corridor.

The Live Oak Streetscaping project, which begun in 2020 and is “funded in part by $2.3 million from Senate Bill (SB) 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, and a $10 million federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant.The $36 million project,” according to Caltrans, will “improve access for pedestrians and bicyclists” along with traffic flow. The project has seen heavy construction consume the stretch of Highway 99 that begins just north of Ramsdell Drive, continuing south through Live Oak to just past Ash Street, for well over a year and a half now. As Caltrans has worked its way through town, residents and drivers have experienced shifting lanes, road closures at vital intersections in the city, loss of easy access to local businesses and more.

Recently, lanes previously closed have opened, along with intersections and crosswalks. With the finished installation of new light fixtures, construction of ADA compliant sidewalks and crosswalks, new parking spaces along the highway, landscaping, and the addition of a stoplight at Kola Street, the project appears to be completed. Almost.

Gilbert Mohtes-Chan of Caltrans says that despite looking finished, the project is not yet 100 percent complete. According to Mohtes-Chan, there are still some miscellaneous projects that Caltrans crews will be working on to put the finishing touches on the project, but that they are “on the home stretch”. Weather permitting, Mohtes-Chan says that Caltrans is targeting the end of February for completion of the project, which was hoped to be finished December 2021. It is rumored some sort of ribbon-cutting type event will be held to celebrate the completion of the project.

Weekly project updates can still be found online at liveoak99.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LiveOak99/ .