If you're one of the 15,000 to 20,000 people commuting from Ventura County into Santa Barbara County each day, you know it doesn't take much to muck up your morning drive.

The finely calibrated flow of traffic on the 101 can sputter to a standstill because of the littlest thing.

That's what makes the four huge highway projects on the boards for the route loom so ominously for both commuters and local traffic gurus. But the first one began a little more than a month ago and, so far at least, the $53 million project to widen the freeway between Montecito and Santa Barbara hasn't resulted in any nightmare traffic jams.

But the work will take four years to complete.

"It's the nature of highway construction that you're going to reduce capacity a little," said Darren Kettle of the Ventura County Transportation Commission.

The extent of the work, so far, has included the removal of trees and bushes along the roadway, restriping some of the lanes and putting in concrete barriers. The speed limit has also been reduced along the route to 55 mph. The two lanes will remain open during the day, but at night, when construction is being done, the highway will be reduced to one lane each way.

"There will be no permanent lane closures during commute hours," said Scott Spaulding, director of regional transit for Santa Barbara-based Traffic Solutions. "But we certainly are going to see rubbernecking and people slowing down in those construction zones, which they should be doing."

Commuters given incentives

Over the past decade, congestion along the route has increased significantly, and the number of commuters is expected to increase. In the long run, the construction is expected to relieve some of that congestion, but in the short run the work is likely to make the commute a little longer, local officials say.

That congestion as well as the soaring cost of gas have helped boost ridership on the Coastal Express bus going north each morning and has triggered a modest increase in the number of carpools, according to Santa Barbara traffic officials.

Santa Barbara County has set up something called the "commuter challenge," giving incentives to get people out of their cars, said Spaulding. About 1,500 people in teams of five are competing to see who can reduce the most number of traffic trips over the next few months. Spaulding said the teams can do anything from carpool, take the bus, bike or work from home to reduce traffic during the peak driving periods.

Depends on voters

The more significant work of widening Highway 101 all the way to the Ventura County line depends on voters' in Santa Barbara County approving a renewal of a transportation sales tax in November. Voters rejected the renewal once before. Ventura County voters have twice rejected a similar measure, but local officials are mulling over a third try in the coming years.

In three years there are plans to begin widening the highway from Mussel Shoals, past La Conchita and north past the Rincon. But before that begins, there will likely be several phases of construction in Santa Barbara County. The first phase would add a lane in both directions between Milpas Street in Santa Barbara south to Montecito's Hot Springs Road.

For more information regarding the planned work on Highway 101, visit http://www.sbroads.com/index.htm.