Roads & Transportation 
Staff
Nita Rolfe – Project Coordinator
Office: 707-487-9255 x 3210
Cell 707-218-7782
Email nrolfe@tolowa.com
Programs and Projects
A high priority for the Rancheria is to enhance safety along the Highway 101 corridor as it is the primary means of travel for most people living or working in the Smith River area. Automobile, and pedestrian safety, needs to be improved on North Indian Road, South Indian Road, and the intersections of North Indian Road and Highway 101 and Rowdy Creed Road and Highway 101. These intersections are locations documenting frequent accidents.
Roadway Needs
South Indian Road Pedestrian, Bicycle Improvements: Construct detached bicycle and pedestrian pathways, locate utilities underground, construct new street lights, improve street signage and construct street inhibitors.
Safety improvements to the intersection of Highway 101 and South and North Indian Roads: Install a round-about, provide safer crossing for pedestrians
North Indian Road: construct sidewalks and bike lanes, locate utilities underground, construct new street lights, fill in ditches and drains, improve street signage and construct speed inhibitors.
Rowdy Creek Road at the intersection of Highway 101: Add a turn lane, install a caution light, expand and widen the Highway 101 Bridge over Rowdy Creek, provide a 4-way round-about at Fred Haight and Highway 101.
Construct a new road and cul-de-sac for the proposed new housing project.
~ PHASE I of the North/South Indian Road Safety Project, which will make the intersection of North/South Indian Road and Highway 101 safer for vehicles and pedestrians. This intersection is at the heart of the Rancheria and is heavily traveled because of its proximity to the Tribe’s medical clinic, Headstart building, cultural center, and various other heavily visited areas. Currently, the road is not wide enough to accommodate the volume of traffic (which is only expected to increase) and it does not have sidewalks or other pedestrian pathways, which forces people to walk on the edge of Highway 101. To date, Smith River Rancheria has documented through the California Department of Transportation and the California Highway Patrol over 15 vehicular and pedestrian accidents in the past three years, including two separate vehicular and pedestrian fatalities in this critical corridor and high-volume intersection with state Highway 101.
~ PHASE II $3.5 million – Widen roadway and expand shoulders, construct overlay, drainage, signing and striping. Design development for pedestrian lighting, utility conversion (underground overhead utilities)
~ Smith River Rancheria Awarded $2.5 Million in TIGER Funds for US Highway 101 Safety Corridor Improvements.
US Department of Transportation TIGER III grant application for its US 101 Multimodal Smith River Safety Corridor Project has been funded for $2.5 million. The Smith River Rancheria, a federally-recognized tribal government, will be the lead agency and project developer to improve signage, safety, and shoulder treatments along the highway. This project will enhance safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists on the critical arterial highway that connects coastal northern California with southwestern Oregon.
Mission
“To improve vehicle and pedestrian safety”
Additional Information & Resources
Smith River Rancheria has developed long-term joint US 101 planning partnerships with Caltrans, ODOT, and Del Norte County.
DEL NORTE COUNTY COOPERATION
The Safety and Traffic Improvements Project on South Indian Road was formally coordinated by the execution of a Memorandum of Agreement by and between the County of Del Norte and the Smith River Tribal Government.
