Springs project breaks ground

With speeches, applause and carbonated apple juice – not to mention five gold-painted shovels – the long-awaited Springs renovation project broke ground yesterday morning at the corner of Highway 12 and East Thomson Avenue.
“After 24 years, what we thought was the first big step is finally a reality,” said Kathleen Kane, executive director of the Sonoma County Development Commission.”
The project’s $2.5 million first phase will put sidewalks, lights and a bike lane along a nearly one-mile stretch of Highway 12 between Boyes Boulevard and Encinas Lane. Actual construction is expected to begin within a month, with a ribbon-cutting planned for next spring.
Sonoma County First District Supervisor Valerie Brown acknowledged that the project had taken a long time to coordinate, and said the hardest part was soon to come.
“This is going to be the largest inconvenience along Highway 12 ever,” Brown said, asking the public to “just bear with us on this.” She added, “When you see this in its entirety, you’ll know what it took so long.”