NAPA (KRON) — Caltrans launched their project to improve safety and shorten travel times in St Helena and Napa County, according to Caltrans officials.
Caltrans and its project partners, including the Napa County Transportation and Planning Agency, Napa County, the city of St. Helena and the Napa Valley Wine Train, broke ground on the project Tuesday and expect to complete it by early 2017, agency officials said.
Crews will work to widen two-lane Highway 29 between Charter Oak Avenue in St. Helena all the way to Mee Lane in Napa County.
The road is used by about 22,000 drivers a day, according to Caltrans.
Caltrans District 4 director Bijan Sartipi said in a statement that $19 million from the State Highway Operations and Protection Program is paying for a major portion of the improvements. San Rafael-based construction contractor Ghilotti Brothers is doing the work, according to Caltrans.
“It is gratifying to see this project come to fruition — it’s been in the planning and developing phase for more than a decade,” Napa County Supervisor Diane Dillon said in a statement.