Update on Improving Sonoma Mountain Road

Update on Improving Sonoma Mountain Road 

By Craig S. Harrison, President, Save Our Sonoma Roads 

The roads in Bennett Valley have slowly been improving for over a decade [December 2022 Voice article]. We now anticipate that a major section of Sonoma Mountain Road will be upgraded during summer 2024 using $700,000 of the settlement funds from PG&E for the Nuns Fire. The portion that will be improved is the section between Sonoma Ridge Lane and Mountain Meadow Lane, about 1.2 miles. We do not yet know what treatment will be applied, but in 2014 a county consultant concluded that the 5.5-mile stretch between Pressley Road and Warm Springs Road had “no remaining useful life.” Once this project is completed, about 4.4 miles of Sonoma Mountain Road will have been improved. The 3.3 miles between Mountain Meadow Lane and Warm Springs Road still desperately needs work. It has failed, depressed, and sunken roadways, frequent extensive large and dangerous potholes, and badly cracked roadsides. These conditions create hazards for vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians.  It is no surprise that Sonoma Mountain Road was twice voted the worst road in Sonoma County in Press Democrat contests.

We encourage Bennett Valley residents to support the continuing improvement of our roads by working with the BVCA and contacting Supervisor Gorin and Public Infrastructure (formerly Department of Transportation and Public Works).