CASTROVILLE >> The iconic “Castroville — The Artichoke Center of the World” sign over Merritt Street in Castroville is the focus of a Caltrans Clean California Beautification project, which has started working to replace it with a newly designed structure.

The California Beautification program started in 2021 and is a $1.2 billion multiyear initiative aimed at removing trash, improving community aesthetics, engaging underserved communities, and creating thousands of job opportunities across California.

Work on the foundations of the new structure will resume on Preston Street on Monday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Activities planned next week include the placement of structural support posts, the pouring of concrete foundations and the installation of temporary bracing, followed by a concrete curing period.

The structure was first installed over Merritt Street (Highway 183) in the mid-1930s, coinciding with the realignment of Highways 1 and 156 through Castroville.

As work continues on the new sign, full overnight closures of the intersection of Merritt and Preston streets are currently scheduled for June 30, July 1, and July 2 from 8 p.m.-6 a.m. Overnight road closures will expedite removal of the existing sign and the installation of the overhead section of the new arched structure and will seek to minimize traffic delays. The overnight closure previously planned for Monday has been canceled. The project is scheduled to be completed the first week in July with a ribbon-cutting celebration anticipated for July 10.

The $488,000 project to replace the “Castroville — Artichoke Center of the World” sign was made possible by Gov. Newsom’s Clean California program led by Caltrans.

Another Clean California Beautification project in Castroville has recently revitalized the Highway 156 Geil Street Pedestrian Overcrossing with colorful new murals, landscaping and safety improvements for pedestrians and bicyclists. The project cost $940,000 and a celebration is anticipated this fall.

The Clean California Beautification program in its first three years has hauled away more than 2.6 million cubic yards of litter, hosted more than 500 free dump days in communities throughout the state, collected 12,000-plus mattresses, collected 50,000 tires, enlisted nearly 60,000 community clean-up volunteers, and created over 18,000 jobs, including positions for individuals who were formerly incarcerated, on probation, or experiencing housing insecurity.

The program’s first three years included a surge in the number of cleanup crews collecting trash on public highway rights-of-way, according to the Governor’s office. But an equally important goal of Clean California has been to extend a zero-litter philosophy beyond the public highway system into every local community and instill renewed pride.

In July 2024, the Governor’s office reported that 94 of 312 projects had been completed, and another 171 were expected to be finished by July 2025. In one example, Kern County, a year ago this month celebrated the completion of a major parks project in the underserved community of Lost Hills that benefited from a $2 million Clean California local project grant. It included five new state-of-the-art play facilities, installation of ADA-compliant sidewalks, a sports field, running track, and community centers.

Clean California has also invested in community engagement and education to extend the anti-litter revolution well into the future. It has resulted in Adopt-A-Highway participation leaping by 50% from about 3,000 to 4,500 stretches of state roads being adopted and cleaned up by the public.

For more information, visit https://cleanca.com/.