Yet another month rolls over, meaning its time for two things: (1) swapping to the other iPod Classic, and (2) a headline post. April was an interesting month. I’ve been slowly working through the headlines (I’m about halfway through March), so maybe I’ll be able to finish the highway page updates before the May headline post. April also saw me completing the Moderna Vaccine regime — and we may very well do a roadtrip today to celebrate and kill off podcasts: Route 118 to Route 23 to Route 126 to Route 150 to Route 33 to Route 166 to Route 99 to I-5 and back to Route 118.
So, first and foremost: <PUBLICSERVICEANNOUNCEMENT>You need a road trip. You can do it safest — for you and for others — if you are vaccinated. GO GET YOUR COVID-19 VACCINE. Anyone over 16 can. It DOES NOT implant a chip. It DOES NOT give you COVID. It’s been in use for four months, on top of all past testing, and is proving extremely safe. But more important: consider the safety vs. the alternative … getting COVID or living in fear of getting COVID. The vaccine will protect you, or at least make any case you contract much less serious. GO GET THE SHOT. </PUBLICSERVICEANNOUNCEMENT>
With that said, here are your headlines for April, together with other things I found of potential interest for the highway pages. Ready, set, discuss, … and get your shot.
Key
[Ħ Historical information | ＄ Paywalls and ∅ other annoying restrictions: SDUT/San Diego Union Tribune; OCR/Orange County Register; VN/Valley News; PE/Press Enterprise; LBPT/Long Beach Press Telegram; DB/Daily Breeze; LADN/Los Angeles Daily News; LAT/LA Times; DS/Desert Sun; RDI/Ridgecrest Daily Independent; VSG/Visalia Sun Gazette; FB/Fresno Bee; MODBEE/Modesto Bee; MH/Monterey Herald; SONN/Sonoma News; SJMN/Mercury News; SFC/San Francisco Chronicle; SFG/SF Gate; EBT/East Bay Times; SACBEE/Sacramento Bee; SBJ/Sacramento Business Journal; TDT/Tahoe Daily Tribune; MIJ/Marin Independent-Journal; NVR/Napa Valley Register; PD/Press Democrat; AC/Argus Courier; RBDN/Red Bluff Daily News; AD/Yuba Sutter Colusa County Appeal Democrat; DNT/Del Norte Triplicate; NW/Newsweek; UKT/The Telegraph (UK) ]
Highway Headlines
- Metro to present proposal to reduce much of Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock to one car lane each way. The push is on for a bus rapid transit (BRT) route through Eagle Rock that would reduce Colorado Boulevard to one car lane each way between Eagle Rock Boulevard and Linda Rosa Avenue. The car-lane reduction would create room for dedicated bus lanes and enhanced bike lanes, while preserving most on-street parking.
- Antlers Bridge Replacement on I-5 (Shasta County, California). This $131M bridge was constructed on a new parallel alignment just east of the existing bridge, which spans the Sacramento River arm of Shasta Lake, California’s third largest lake and largest reservoir. The new bridges are twin cast-in-place segmental box girder superstructures consisting of 5 spans, 1,942’ long and 104’ wide connected with diaphragms at the piers as well as a full length closure pour, connecting the wings. The superstructure depth varies from 29’-6” deep to 12’ deep. The structure, designed for a 100-year life, consists of 13 million pounds of steel and more than 36,000 cubic yards of concrete.
- Have a say in the future of Highway 37. Have thoughts on the future of Highway 37 in Vallejo? Share your views with Caltrans, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and transportation agencies for Marin, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties, who are seeking input. All will participate in an upcoming online public Townhall meeting hosted by senators Mike McGuire, D-North Coast and Bill Dodd, D-Solano. Agency officials are expected to discuss three coordinated planning efforts to develop solutions for improving Highway 37.
- ＄/DS State Route 62 road construction project set to begin next week. The initial stages of a road construction project set for more than 20 miles of Highway 62 in Riverside and San Bernardino counties will begin next week, and Caltrans urged motorists to brace for future delays. The $48 million project will see a new layer of pavement placed on two major segments of Highway 62. The first is from Indian Canyon Drive near Desert Hot Springs to roughly Yucca Mesa Road in Yucca Valley. The work will pick up again in Twentynine Palms, from Bermuda Avenue to near Utah Trail.
- Caltrans awards millions for local roadway safety projects. Caltrans has awarded over $227 million to fund safety projects designed to reduce traffic deaths and serious injuries on city and county roads. Funding is provided through the federal Highway Safety Improvement Program. “Safety is always our number one priority,” said Caltrans Director Toks Omishakin. “These projects will enhance systemwide safety features, including expanded access to protected walkways and bikeways, and will move us closer to our goal of reducing serious injuries and fatalities on California roadways.” San Benito County is included in the funding: …
- Measure A paid for $14.6M in North County projects in 2019-20. Almost $14.6 million of Measure A funds were spent on North County transportation projects in the 2019-20 fiscal year, according to the annual report recently released by the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments. The expenditures bring the total amount of Measure A funds spent in the North County since the transportation sales tax was approved in 2008 to more than $157 million, according to the report.
- California invests $491 million for transportation improvements. The California Transportation Commission (CTC) in late March allocated $491 million to address transportation needs throughout the state. This investment, which includes $273 million generated from Senate Bill 1 (SB1), known as the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, will repair highways and bridges and improve California’s growing network of mass transit, bicycle and pedestrian routes. … The following are a few projects aimed at improving or repairing some of the state’s roads and bridges. District 3 — Marysville …
