A few years ago my kid attended Humboldt U, so I drove 101 several times.
Not much truck traffic, and that mostly for groceries etc to Eureka and the surrounds.
As 101 traverses a redwood park using two very narrow and twisting lanes a major relocation to ??? would be required for improvement. I assume the horror of Willits has been solved.
Eureka-Arcata has many fine dining establishments-most probably to launder marijuana profits, and especially Arcata is full of homeless druggies who come to enjoy the "waters".
It will be very interesting to see how the legal marijuana thing plays out.
Will the area boom or fold?