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Marin Confronts Years-Long Fixes After 101 Flooding, With $17 Billion at Stake

Canceled federal grants alongside fragmented oversight are slowing Marin’s shift from emergency pumping to durable protections.

Overview

  • Highway 101 at Lucky Drive closed in both directions around noon on Jan. 3 and fully reopened by 4:30 p.m., prompting county calls for better, countywide alert coordination beyond social media.
  • Caltrans launched a $950,000, two-year study of the Highway 101 corridor from Sausalito to San Rafael, focusing on the Lucky Drive area and options such as levees, a tide gate, and road elevation.
  • Marin has proposed a $25 million flood-wall repair for the breached Santa Venetia levee while crews continue temporary pumping and sandbagging.
  • Regional estimates put Marin’s long-term sea-level defense needs at about $17 billion as recent cancellations of federal climate grants force greater reliance on state bonds and limited local funds.
  • Low-income neighborhoods and subsiding bayside zones, including eastern Corte Madera, face compounding risks from tides, rainfall and groundwater that are overwhelming aging infrastructure.