Appeals Court Upholds Richardson Grove Project, Clears Path for Construction

Every standard freight truck hauling goods from the Bay Area to Humboldt County currently cannot use U.S. Highway 101 north of Leggett, forced onto alternate routes that add roughly three hours to the trip, because of 1.1 miles of curves through Richardson Grove State Park. A California appellate court ruled April 1 that Caltrans' plan to fix those curves complies with state environmental law, ending what the court's own published opinion called a litigation odyssey "about as labyrinthine as the root systems of the redwood trees themselves."

The 1.1-mile stretch through Richardson Grove is the only remaining barrier on U.S. 101 preventing STAA trucks, the standard 25-foot cab pulling a 53-foot trailer that is legal on federal highways everywhere else in California, from reaching Humboldt County from the south. The curves are too tight to prevent off-tracking, the term for when an oversized trailer swings outside its lane. A 2017 Caltrans estimate put construction costs at $20.7 million; no updated figure has been released.

Caltrans District 1 Director Matt Brady called the ruling "an important milestone for a project that has undergone extensive environmental review and public input over many years," adding that the agency is "ready to move forward with improvements that will enhance commercial mobility and improve safety on this critical stretch of U.S. 101 while protecting the surrounding environment." Caltrans said construction could begin as early as late May, pending final administrative steps.

The Environmental Protection Information Center, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Californians for Alternatives to Toxics have been the principal opponents throughout the litigation, arguing that construction close to the old-growth redwoods lining the corridor could sever and compact the shallow root networks sustaining trees that predate the highway, which was built in 1915, by centuries. No trees would be directly removed under the project.

The legal fight ran through three rounds of court action. A 2012 ruling found Caltrans' original environmental impact report deficient, ordering the agency to redo major sections. Caltrans prepared updated addenda in 2017 and 2023. In 2019, Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Kelly Neel ruled the agency had not properly recirculated the revised report for public comment; after Caltrans did so, the superior court discharged its earlier rulings. Appellants challenged again, and the First Appellate District has now sided with Caltrans.

Construction mobilization has already begun in limited form. Caltrans recently conducted time-sensitive tree trimming timed to avoid nesting bird season, with crews active in the park ahead of the main construction window. During the heavier construction phase, the agency has committed to hand-digging and air-spading near sensitive root zones rather than mechanical excavation, with continuous environmental monitoring throughout the project.

Opponents signaled they are reviewing the published appellate opinion for any remaining legal avenue. Two full rounds of CEQA litigation have now been rejected, and with the appellate court's affirmation, the procedural options available to challengers have narrowed considerably.