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Map of Access St. Helena project

Late May/Memorial Day weekend

Good news! The main line trenching phase of the St Helena undergrounding project by PG&E is getting very close to the finish line! 

More than 13,000 out of 15,000 feet of trenches, boxes, bores and tie-ins are complete. PG&E’s contractors, UCCO (Underground Construction Company), have crews closing the last gap by early June, working on the west side of Hwy 29, north of Milat and Corison wineries and south of Hall Winery and Dean & DeLuca.

Crews are working week days only, no nights or weekends, from about 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

No work on May 27 (Memorial Day).

Happy news: No work on Hwy 29 or Zinfandel  on Friday, May 31! Both PG&E and UCCO have been very cooperative to meet the county’s request and smooth the way for Auction Napa Valley’s volunteers and guests in the area.

The work does not stop after trenching is complete, but the traffic control measures and impact should bring far less inconvenience. Up next after trenching: 

  • quick pavement restoration (no more steel plates!)
  • installation of facilities (the real undergrounding of the utilities)
  • the Caltrans phase of widening and re-striping won’t start (likely) til 2015

Thanks as always for your continuing patience with this important work. Check our ACCESS ST HELENA Facebook page and website for frequent updates and interesting photos of the progress!

 

ABOUT ACCESS ST. HELENA

Access St. Helena is a community outreach group bringing you information about highway improvement projects along Hwy 29, the main north-south transportation route leading into the city of St. Helena, from Mee Lane (south of the city) to Charter Oak Avenue (in the city).

First, PG&E will build a trench, place the overhead utility and services lines underground, and remove the utility poles along the highway.

Caltrans will follow with a project that will provide vastly improved access into St. Helena, a continuous two-way left turn lane, and an overall safer highway for residents, visitors and bicyclists, with standard-width shoulders and a bicycle ‘fly around’ at the Whitehall Lane railroad crossing.

During the work, all of Napa Valley is open for business, and the contractors are committed to keeping both lanes open whenever possible during construction. You will find information on traffic impact here.  In an unprecedented effort, private and public entities and the utilities are working together in a coordinated effort to mitigate the short-term impacts of construction.

The two projects together will bring us all a safer and more beautiful Napa Valley.