🛣 Headlines About California Highways – December 2019

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Ah, the end of the teens. The 21st century is moving into the 20s. What a decade it has been.

As befits the winter months, things have been a bit quieter. But still there are headlines. I’ve also been working on the highway pages (although not all uploaded yet) to add pictures to all the naming resolutions, with the goal of putting faces with the names. If we’re going to go to the trouble of naming a highway after someone, we should know who that person is or was, and be able to look at their face and seem them as more than just a name we pass by at 60mph. These were people that contributed to society and were important to their family. Remembering is important.

In any case, here are the headlines about California Highways for December. Ready, set, discuss.

[💰 Paywalls and 🚫 other annoying restrictions: $LAT/LA Times; SJMN/Mercury News; OCR/Orange County Register; VSG/Visalia Sun Gazette; RDI/Ridgecrest Daily Independent; PE/Press Enterprise; TDT/Tahoe Daily Tribune]

  • 💰 LAT / Toll lanes in the Sepulveda Pass? The 405 Freeway is moving in that direction. Los Angeles County spent 4½ years and more than $1.6 billion to widen the 405 Freeway through the Sepulveda Pass. Now, the carpool lane born from that mega-project is facing a major change of its own: tolls. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is in the early stages of planning to allow solo drivers in the 405’s carpool lanes, for a price. Similar programs on portions of the 110 and 10 freeways charge drivers a per-mile toll that changes based on traffic conditions.
  • A Line, making transit a habit, 405 ExpressLanes: Metro News Now, Dec. 2. I’m sure some of you reading this enjoyed some quality time sitting parked on the 405 freeway at some point in the last week. Thus you may be interested to know that the Metro Board on Thursday will consider a $27.5-million contract with WP USA to do the environmental document and other studies for the Sepulveda Pass ExpressLanes project, reports the LAT.
  • Metro eyes toll road on 105 in Downey. One of the best things about living in Downey is our freeway proximity. And that includes hopping on the 105 Freeway and a straight shot to LAX. That drive could get more complicated, however. The LA Times published a story today about Metro’s plans to add a toll lane to the 405 Freeway through the Sepulveda Pass. At the end of the article is this revelation …
  • Metro Driving Toward Sepulveda Pass Toll Lanes On 405 Freeway. Toll lanes are being explored for one of the busiest freeways in the nation – the 405 Freeway in West Los Angeles. Metro is in the early stages of a plan to create 405 Freeway “fast lanes” that would give drivers willing to pay up a lane of their own.
  • Upgrade in Eureka. Times they are a-changin’! We’re aiming for another helpful upgrade in Eureka by the end of the year. Those that regularly use the Henderson Street intersection along U.S. Highway 101 know that traffic can back up there. …
  • Caltrans: Part of Henderson Street in Eureka to be made a one-way to reduce congestion. By the end of 2019, the California Dept. of Transportation plans to turn part of Henderson Street into a one-way route to alleviate traffic delays in the area. Caltrans said the area of Henderson Street between Highway 101 and Fairfield will be turned into three lanes, all going toward the highway.

  • Highway 1 busway project work gets under way.  Preliminary engineering and environmental review work has begun on the $40 million Highway 1 busway project planned for the Monterey branch line rail corridor between Monterey and Marina. Dubbed “Surf! Bus Rapid Transit,” the joint project of Monterey Salinas Transit and the Transportation Agency for Monterey County kicked off its pre-construction work late last month with MST-hired consultant Kimley-Horn. Completion of the preliminary work is slated for 2021.
  • 💰 SJMN / State assemblyman solicits public’s ideas for replacement of 63-year-old Richmond Bridge. What should a new Richmond-San Rafael Bridge look like? Should it only carry cars or should bikes, walkers and even trains be able to cross it? These are the questions state Assemblyman Marc Levine is posing to Bay Area residents and commuters as part of a new website and social media campaign he launched centered on replacing the 63-year-old bridge. The website — TheRichmondBridge.com — is meant to serve as a forum for residents to voice their views and submit suggestions.
  • Editorial: Richmond Bridge bike trial raises questions. Throngs of bike riders greeted the opening of the trial bike lane across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Whether that strong stream of users continues will be a test of time. Officially, it’s a four-year trial that is costing taxpayers $20 million. We have questioned whether the number of bike riders who will make the 5.5-mile trek (and even farther when considering the distance to job sites) across the span was worth the hefty investment, not to mention the loss of an opportunity to re-open the third westbound lane during commute hours.
  • Marin-Sonoma Narrows ‘milestone’: Carpool lanes. Caltrans will soon have new carpool lanes open in both directions on Highway 101 between the Marin-Sonoma County line and Petaluma. The lanes are part of the ongoing Marin-Sonoma “Narrows” project launched in 2011 to widen 17 miles of Highway 101 between Novato and Petaluma from four to six lanes by adding a carpool lane in each direction. The entire project is expected to cost about $762 million. The northbound, four-mile carpool lane between San Antonio Road and the Petaluma River Bridge opened late last month. The southbound lane is set to open early this month, according to Transportation Authority of Marin spokeswoman Molly Graham.
  • Where traffic doesn’t take a day off: These Bay Area freeways see terrible congestion on weekends too. When his work schedule changed a couple of years ago to include shifts on Saturdays and Sundays, tattoo artist Owen Partridge figured the silver lining would be a traffic-free commute. “I thought, ‘Oh this will be easier,’” said Partridge, whose trip to work takes him down the often traffic-choked Eastshore Freeway from his home in Vallejo to shops in Berkeley and San Francisco. But Partridge has come to learn the same lesson as countless Bay Area drivers who spend Monday through Friday slogging through some of the worst congestion in the country, and look to their weekends for relief from the grind: Traffic here doesn’t take a day off.
  • Metro to spend $27M studying 405 toll lanes through Sepulveda Pass. Since 2016, when Los Angeles Voters approved a half-cent sales tax increase funding new transit projects, adding toll lanes in place of existing carpool lanes through the Sepulveda Pass has been on Metro’s long to-do list. Today, the agency’s Board of Directors took the first step to make that happen, agreeing to spend more than $27 million on a detailed study that will guide design and implementation of express lanes on the 405 freeway.
  • Caltrans Is Trying To Prepare California Highways For Climate Change. Nearly three miles of prime beach views from Highway 1 near San Luis Obispo were recently moved inland by Caltrans, and  the state’s Department of Transportation is considering doing the same on other highways. The problem? The ocean began encroaching on the highway. The realignment project moved a section of Highway 1 up to 475 feet inland. The almost $20 million project was completed in 2017 and the goal was to prevent sea-level rise and coastal erosion from causing major closures on this part of the highway over the next century.
  • 💰 LAT / Opinion: Convert 405 lanes into toll lanes? ‘Dumbest idea ever’ . Serious arguments exist for converting existing lanes on the hopelessly congested 405 Freeway through the Sepulveda Pass into toll lanes. In theory, adopting tolls allows road space to be rationed more effectively, giving another option to drivers willing to pay a fee, which is adjusted according to traffic. Our readers are having none of that. Since the L.A. Times first reported on the latest effort by Metro to study express lanes on the 405, not one of our letter writers has written in support of giving motorists the option to pay to drive in lanes priced to keep traffic flowing faster than 45 mph.
  • 💰 LAT / Caltrans investigations find waste and wrongdoing in state transportation programs. A new inspector general at Caltrans has found millions of dollars in misspending on transportation improvement projects in the last year as the state has seen its coffers swell from increases to the state’s gas taxes and vehicle fees. Rhonda L. Craft, who was appointed five months ago, said in a report to the governor this week that in the fiscal year that ended June 30, her auditors found more than $13 million in “disallowed” expenditures reported by state and local government agencies. They include $7.4 million in questioned costs for programs covered by Proposition 1B, a $19.9-billion transportation bond measure approved by California voters in 2006.
  • Highway 40 Construction. A couple of beautiful photos showing the construction of Highway 40 between the towns of Rocklin and Roseville, Placer County, California. The first thing I noticed is the lack of any warning equipment or cones. I’m not sure if the cars even slowed down whizzing by.
  • MIJ / Marin submits transportation wish list for mega tax measure. A train connecting Novato to the East Bay. Rapid bus lanes on Interstate 580, Highway 101 and Highway 37. Enhanced ferry service between the North Bay and San Francisco. Replacement of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. These are but a few of the items on Marin County transportation agencies’ wish list of projects it would want to see funded by Faster Bay Area, the mega sales tax measure that seeks to raise $100 billion to overhaul the region’s transit system.
  • MIJ / Fairfax road modifications spark fury from residents. A group of Fairfax residents is outraged over the town’s decision to reconfigure a major road without first consulting neighbors. “Leaders are making decisions that they think are best without consulting the people that are actually affected,” resident Matthew Gabel told the Town Council at its meeting Wednesday. “If there can be greater interaction with the public, I think things would be more positive.”
  • 💰 OCR / OCTA considers changing 5 Orange County freeways from carpool lanes to tolled lanes. A lot more of Orange County’s freeways could have tolled lanes in a couple of decades. The 5, 55, 57, 91 and 405 freeways could all see carpool lanes turn into tolled lanes as transportation officials look for ways to relieve traffic. A $1.9 billion widening of the 405 underway now will result in two tolled lanes in each direction from the Los Angeles County line to the 73 Freeway, and Caltrans is actively studying creating toll lanes on the 5 from the Los Angeles County line to south of the 55 as soon as 2028.
  • LA Metro Says 405 Freeway Toll Lanes Would Help With Congestion. Will Drivers Buy In?. Los Angeles County transportation officials have approved taking a closer look at how to convert existing carpool lanes on the 405 Freeway into express lanes through the Sepulveda Pass. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board on Thursday approved a 36-month study of the concept, granting a contract worth nearly $27.5 million to WSP USA, Inc., an architectural and engineering company. WSP will conduct an environmental study, traffic study and a concept of operation report for the project, which would replace the existing High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes on the 405 with ExpressLanes between the 101 and 10 freeways.
  • 💰 SJMN / When will the I-880 express lanes open?. Q: Gary, any idea when the Interstate 880 toll lane project will be completed? What did the project cost? And how long will it take to recoup the cost with tolls?
  • Delta’s J-Mack Ferry returns to service. The J-Mack Ferry returned to service Thursday and its sister ferry, the Real McCoy, could return to service as early as the end of January, the state Department of Transportation announced Thursday. The J-Mack Ferry on Highway 220 was taken out of service in September for repairs and Coast Guard inspections.
  • Building next generation interstate highways. Congress is currently debating reauthorization of federal surface transportation legislation and the stakes could not be higher, or timelier. As we work within our respective states and with our federal partners to address infrastructure maintenance and upgrades across all travel modes, as is clearly required, it must be recognized the nation’s interstate highway system is flashing red. Once the envy of the world, interstates today now suffer rampant congestion while many bridges and pavement across the system are reaching, or well-past, their intended design lives.
  • 💰 LAT / Orange County may build toll lanes on several major freeways. Orange County officials are considering adding toll lanes to several major freeways to relieve increasing congestion as the county continues to grow. In the next decade, the 405, 5, 55, 57 and 91 freeways could see added express toll lanes, based on studies presented to the Orange County Transportation Authority. Although the five major thoroughfares are being considered, all Orange County freeways are fair game for pay-to-drive lanes, said Joel Zlotnik, an OCTA spokesman.
  • We’re still fighting city freeways after half a century. Like the modernist plans of its time, the 1969 Melbourne Metropolitan Transportation Plan was bold in ambition. Major motorways have been built across the city as a result of the plan. For Melbourne, the aspiration of the 1969 plan lives on in our relentless pursuit of new mega-road projects. From the start, these projects met with community resistance. And, like the roads of the 1960s and ’70s, the roads proposed in recent times for Melbourne, Perth and Sydney can still mobilise communities. As Australian cities continue to build massive urban freeways and toll roads half a century after the heyday of modernist planning, it is time to pause and reflect.
  • Too Many Accidents at Glen Annie and 101, Says Goleta Mayor. Goleta residents see accidents all the time at the maximally used roads that lead from the northbound 101 to UCSB and also to the shopping centers anchored by Costco and Target. Among those residents is Mayor Paula Perotte.  “People run into each other as traffic builds up on the offramp, and it definitely backs up onto the freeway,” she said of the Glen Annie/Storke Road offramp from the 101. “People who live here know that happens, but folks that don’t can be surprised,” she added. “They can be going pretty fast, and it backs up quickly. I’ve actually seen people get hit on the freeway,” Perotte said, calling them fender-benders for the most part.
  • State Route 89 Truckee River Bridge. Today Caltrans joined several partner agencies for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the new State Route 89 Truckee River Bridge in Tahoe City. The project includes roundabouts at each end of the bridge and new bike path segments.
  • 💰 SJMN / New express lane on 237 jammin’ up: Roadshow. Q: The first week or so that the new Highway 237 east toll lane was open, it was nice. The lane moved quickly and was a big time saver. Now it is no good at all. What has happened? With no accidents or other issues, the toll lane is just as backed up and slow as the other lanes are. Has the experiment failed already?
  • Pasadena’s Maranatha High School Adopts Portion of Caltrans Highway. There is an expectation at Maranatha High School that each student will complete service hours during the year as part of their enrollment. One of their adages is “We commit to be intentional in discovering the true needs of those living in the Pasadena area and working towards meeting those needs.” Towards that end, the prestigious Pasadena private school sought meaningful community service options for their students, learned about Caltrans Adopt-A-Highway program and wound up adopting a portion of State Route 210. A few times each month the Dean of Student Ministries, Michael Mancini, and Maranatha students can be seen picking up litter between Hill Avenue to Sunnyslope Avenue on Interstate Route 210.
  • Fears about State Route 154 safety aired at town hall in Solvang. Santa Barbara County residents piled into Solvang’s Veterans Memorial Building on Monday night to hear from local officials and voice their concerns at a town hall meeting hosted by the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments’ Highway 154 Safety Committee.  Nearly 100 concerned locals came to the meeting to discuss the latest information on State Route 154 traffic safety. Attending the meeting and answering questions were representatives from Caltrans, California Highway Patrol, and local and state officials, including state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, Assemblywoman Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara, and county Supervisors Gregg Hart and Joan Hartmann.
  • J-Mack Ferry Goes Back Out Of Service, Caltrans Says. The State Route 220 J-Mack Ferry, which provides service to Ryer Island and its visitors by crossing the Cache Slough in Rio Vista, was taken out of service Sunday because of mechanical problems. Caltrans mechanics were working to diagnose the problem, Caltrans District 4 Spokeswoman Janis Mara said Monday morning.
  • I-8 Update Project. 🎉🛣 Today we hit a milestone by completing the I-8 Update Project. Back in 2016 Caltrans started a resurfacing project on a 48-mile stretch of Interstate 8.
  • Third lane opens for Hwy. 101 motorists outside of Petaluma. The commute through southern Sonoma County was a little bit smoother Monday. A lofty vision to create a continuous carpool lane on Highway 101 through most of Sonoma County crept 4four miles closer to reality as transportation officials opened the first new section of lanes since 2013. The expanded highway represents the completion of several projects at the Sonoma-Marin county line designed to reduce congestion and improve safety along Highway 101. It leaves one final piece of the so-called Sonoma-Marin Narrows project — from the county line to Novato — unfunded.
  • 💰 VSG / City won’t take Hwy 63 back from state. Having a state highway run through your downtown may not be ideal but it’s cheaper than maintaining it yourself.  That was the consensus of the Visalia City Council at its Dec. 2 meeting when one councilmember suggested taking Court and Locust streets north of Highway 198 to the city limits back from CalTrans and removing it from the list of state highways. Councilmember Greg Collins asked the council to discuss at a future meeting a request that the State of California relinquish the northern portion of Highway 63 to the city.
  • Planning group puts the skids on stop signs, advances crosswalks. Traffic and road safety issues took a front seat in discussions at the Ramona Community Planning Group’s (RCPG) Dec. 5 meeting. RCPG members followed up on longtime Ramona resident Mischa Dobrotin’s suggestion that stop signs be placed at the intersections of Fifth and D streets and Fourth and D streets. Currently, the group reports, there are no stop signs at Fourth and D and only one stop sign at D Street where it intersects with Fifth Street.
  • Coastal Commission Approves I-5 Express Lanes from Carlsbad to Oceanside. Local transportation planners received a milestone approval when the California Coastal Commission issued a permit for express lanes on Interstate 5 from Carlsbad to Oceanside. The new lanes will be built from Palomar Airport Road to Route 78, with construction beginning in the fall of 2020 and completion scheduled in 2022. When this segment is finished, there will be express lanes for 20 miles, from the Interstate 805 merge to Route 78.
  • 🚫 RDI / Fallen Heroes Memorial will be located at I-5 Weed rest stop. The Siskiyou County Fallen Heroes Memorial ­– ­a project at the Weed rest stop that will honor local law enforcement, firefighters and armed services personnel who have died in the line of duty – is coming closer to completion after it was first proposed by former Siskiyou County Supervisor Bill Hoy nearly 15 years ago. A benefit dinner for the memorial will be held January 25 at the Yreka Community Center and will include a dinner, raffle and auction.
  • 💰 LAT / A toll lane future is inevitable in California as traffic congestion worsens. When California began building its freeway network after World War II to connect its booming suburbs, the expectation was that drivers would be able to use them to speedily bypass traffic lights, pedestrians and increasingly congested city streets. And while not expressly stated, the flowing concrete ribbons would be unlike the toll roads in the East: That is, these roadways would be free.
  • Caltrans looking to elevate overpasses on Interstate-80 during next few years. Vallejo residents can expect traffic detours over the next two to four years as the California Department of Transportation works to raise the vertical clearance of six bridges crossing over Interstate-80. The Vallejo City Council received its first look Tuesday night at a proposed plan to raise the overpasses at Magazine Street, Benicia Road, Georgia Street, Springs Road, Tennessee Street, and Redwood Street to the standard height of 16 feet 6 inches.
  • State allots $1.4 million for Highway 37 flood protection, wetland restoration. A project aimed at reducing flooding near Highway 37 and bolstering nearby wetlands near Novato is set to proceed after obtaining a nearly $1.5 million state grant on Thursday. The California Coastal Conservancy voted unanimously on Thursday to allocate the grant funds to the Marin Flood Control and Water Conservation District to perform the enhancement work on 136 acres of wetlands in Simmons Slough. “It’s a multi-benefit project,” said Jeff Melby, project manager with the coastal conservancy. “It’s part of a larger effort to restore habitat in the bay lands and manage flood control, manage water management.”
  • 💰 PE / What are those ‘shark teeth’ on the roads in the Inland Empire? Q: Dave Snyder of Grand Terrace asked for the meaning of the “sharks teeth,” or series of white triangles painted on the pavement at the Washington Street/Mt. Vernon Avenue and 215 Freeway interchange, in the exit bridges’ eastbound lane going up the hill into Grand Terrace.
  • More than $200 Million in Bonds Will Be Spent for Motorists, Bicyclists and Pedestrians. This month the California Transportation Commission (CTC) allocated more than $200 million for 27 fix-it-first highway projects and $42 million for 43 transit, bike and pedestrian projects that are partially funded by Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. “Californians expect their transportation system to be well maintained, efficient, and multimodal” said Caltrans Director Toks Omishakin. “This funding will keep us safely moving motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians and transit users across the state.” [Tehama/Trinity County] Area projects allocated SB 1 funds include: …
  • Roundabout construction scheduled for 2021. The controversial roundabout planned for the Highway 25/156 intersection at Hollister’s north end is moving forward and is on schedule, according to Caltrans. Brandy Rider, the Department of Transportation project manager, reported in response to a Free Lance inquiry that the project is fully funded, its environmental review is completed and final designs and right-of-way acquisitions are scheduled for August 2020. The $10.7 million project aims to make the busy intersection safer, Rider said.
  • More than $200 million allocated for SB 1 funded projects; $5.7 million to come to Lake County. This month the California Transportation Commission, or CTC, allocated more than $200 million for 27 fix-it-first highway projects and $42 million for 43 transit, bike and pedestrian projects that are partially funded by Senate Bill 1, or SB 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. That includes $5.7 million for two Lake County projects. “Californians expect their transportation system to be well maintained, efficient and multimodal,” said Caltrans Director Toks Omishakin. “This funding will keep us safely moving motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians and transit users across the state.”
  • $200 million allocated for roadway projects. The California Transportation Commission has allocated more than $200 million for 27 fix-it-first highway projects and $42 million for 43 transit, bike and pedestrian projects that are partially funded by Senate Bill 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. “Californians expect their transportation system to be well maintained, efficient, and multimodal” said Caltrans Director Toks Omishakin. “This funding will keep us safely moving motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians and transit users across the state.” The 27 bill funded projects will replace or improve 305 lane miles, 27 bridges, 204 congestion reducing devices, and repair 32 culverts to prevent flooding on highways. [Gold Country] Area projects include:
  • 🚫 TDT / TRPA tags 6 Lake Tahoe projects with ‘Best in Basin’ awards. The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency awarded six projects with last week Best in Basin awards. The Best in Basin awards program is in its 29th year and showcases projects around the lake that demonstrate exceptional planning, implementation, and compatibility with Tahoe’s environment and communities. This year’s Best in Basin award winners are:
  • Caltrans restores Hwy 99 funds. Caltrans has reinstated more than $22 million in funding for Highway 99.  The state transportation agency released its final 2020 Interregional Transportation Improvement Program (ITIP) on Dec. 15 issuing a complete reversal of its draft report in October that deprogrammed $32 million in highway projects including Highway 99 in Tulare and Madera counties and Highway 46 in Kern County.  State Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) said that she is pleased funding to help mitigate the public safety risk on two dangerous roadways was restored and thanked all of the Valley legislators and citizens who made sure Sacramento heard the valley’s united voice.
  • Caltrans to begin Red Bluff road repairs in spring. Caltrans will start repairing State Route 36 through Red Bluff in the spring as a part of its 27 fix-it-first highway projects statewide. The Tehama 36 Pavement Rehabilitation Project will upgrade curb ramps to meet current Americans with Disabilities Act Standards, update traffic systems, revamp drainage systems and improve more than 10 miles of lane pavement on SR 36 from east of Baker Road to east of the Sand Slough Bridge.
  • Councilman Helps Keep Highway 46 Projects Alive. Paso Robles City Councilmember Fred Strong reported in December that he helped garner millions of dollars for City and San Luis Obispo County roadways through negotiations at the local and state levels. Strong said that California lost over $368 million of federal aid due to the Trump Administration’s Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule for model years 2021-2026 passenger cars and light trucks. Acting as President and Chairman of San Luis Obispo Council of Government (SLOCOG), Strong worked to secure previously guaranteed other federal and state funds.
  • American Canyon moves ahead on Green Island Road project. American Canyon leaders ended 2019 on the public works front by looking ahead to long-planned Green Island Road renovations and reflecting on Donaldson Way tribulations. Green Island Road was built a half-century ago and had its last major renovation in 1988. Today’s version, with its two lanes and rough patches, serves the city’s growing industrial core.
  • 💰 LAT / Southern California’s Grapevine will test travelers in coming days. Here’s some history. Holiday travelers will be tested again as a new cold storm arrives on the West Coast from the Aleutian Islands late Sunday, and snow levels may dip as low as 2,500 feet. Mountain roads and passes are likely to be affected, and the National Weather Service warns those who need to travel into or through the mountains should not wait until Monday or Tuesday — New Year’s Eve — to do it.
  • Siskiyou bridges to benefit from Caltrans, SB1 funding. SB 1 invests approximately $5 billion per year to fix roads, freeways and bridges in communities across California as well as strategically investing in transit. These funds are split equally between state and local projects and will allow Caltrans to fix more than 17,000 lane miles of pavement, 500 bridges and 55,000 culverts on the state highway system by 2027. This month the California Transportation Commission allocated more than $200 million for 27 “fix-it-first” highway projects and $42 million for 43 transit, bike and pedestrian projects that are partially funded by Senate Bill 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. This includes funding to strengthen nine bridges along Trinity County’s 299, Highway 36 and Siskiyou County’s Highway 96, according to a Caltrans release.
  • Crews work to shore up $3-million landslide project on Highway 96. The California Department of Transportation District 2 continues to battle a landslide affecting a stretch of State Route 96 which has been closed on and off since the fall. Boulders and other debris has been spotted rolling down the hill next to the highway about four miles west of Happy Camp in Siskiyou County prompting the emergency project. “Emergency contracts are anything caused by any unexpected natural disaster or flooding or weather event,” said Lupita Franco, Public Information Officer for Caltrans District 2.
  • Funding is allocated for two road improvement projects on Route 60 Freeway. During December, the California Transportation Commission (CTC) allocated more than $200 million for 27 fix-it-first highway projects and $42 million for 43 transit, bike and pedestrian projects that are partially funded by Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. In the Inland Empire, two projects were allocated funds:

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