Caltrans last week awarded a total of $66 million to cities and counties across the state for projects to make it safer for students to walk or ride their bikes to school. Nearly $2 million was designated for school safety projects in Lake, Mendocino and Sonoma counties. Caltrans spokesman Phil Frisbie Jr. said when the work will be done is up to each agency involved but the funding is good for seven years. The North Coast projects are: –In Clearlake,… Read More »
The state Transportation Commission last week approved several road projects for Lake, Mendocino and Sonoma counties, with the biggest chunk being $45 million to replace the Highway 101 bridges over the Petaluma River with wider spans to allow car-pool lanes. Click here to read about that. Among the other projects approved locally are: –$6.1 million to repave stretches of Highways 29 and 53 in Lake County. The Highway 29 work will go from just south of the junction with Highway… Read More »
Caltrans has begun improving a stretch of Highway 53 in Lake County that has been the scene of many accidents over the years. The project, which had been delayed a few months by last year’s budget paralysis, will run from just south of 40th Avenue in Clearlake to Highway 20. Shoulders will be widened, turn lanes added at some intersections, a stoplight will be installed at Olympic Drive – an intersection that has been the source of many of the… Read More »
Caltrans’ plan to widen Highway 101 between Petaluma and Novato inched forward this week with the state Transportation Commission approving a few more miles of extra lanes. The biggest gain will be in Novato where a fourth northbound lane will be added from Highway 37 to north of Atherton Avenue — a distance of about four miles. A fourth southbound lane will be built from Rowland Boulevard to Highway 37 — a distance of a little more than a mile.… Read More »
Sebastopol again ranks near the top in the state for fatal/injury collisions among cities of comparable size, according to the latest figures from the state Office of Traffic Safety. For 2009, Sebastopol ranked second out of 70 cities of 2,500 to 10,000 people with 67 fatal/injury collisions. Sonora, near Yosemite, ranked No. 1. In 2008, Sebastopol ranked fourth with 54 such collisions. The high rankings come as no surprise to Sebastopol Police Lt. James Conner. He explained that with Highways… Read More »
Caltrans is warning that the state budget stalemate may delay dozens of highway projects around the state, including ones in Lake and Mendocino counties. No Sonoma County project was on a list of affected road work. In Lake County, a plan to improve Highway 53 from Clearlake to Highway 20 –repaving, wider shoulders, longer turn lanes and a traffic light at Olympic Drive — has been put on hold because of the budget crisis, Caltrans spokesman Phil Frisbie Jr. said.… Read More »
You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers. Here’s a question from a reader: Question: What does it take to adopt a highway, and what happens to one compared to a non-adopted highway? Peter Answer: Caltrans Adopt-a-Highway Program started in 1989, and the volunteers that participate pick up thousands of cubic yards of litter a year from the shoulders of state highways. Dennis Dickensheets, Caltrans maintenance manager for District 1, which covers northwestern California, including Lake and Mendocino counties, said all kinds… Read More »
Here’s an alert if you’re planning to drive to Clearlake to just cut through Lake County on your way to the Central Valley, Shasta or wherever. Watch out for where Highway 52 intersects with Olympic Drive in Clearlake. It used to be that only traffic on Olympic Drive had to stop. But in February, Caltrans put stop signs on both directions of Highway 53, so now all traffic must stop. The danger is that drivers not used to or aware… Read More »
