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 »
Going to Fort Bragg? Get ready for the Highway 1 roundabout. Drivers this week began using the roundabout at Simpson Lane just south of Fort Bragg after Caltrans opened it. Construction crews still are putting the finishing touches on the $4.4 million project and are expected to be done later this fall. Caltrans spokesman Phil Frisbie Jr. has said the roundabout is the second one on a Mendocino County highway, with the first on Highway 175 near Hopland. The Fort… Read More »
After more than four years of planning and preparation at a cost of about $2.8 million, Caltrans is ready to break ground to build a roundabout on Highway 1 just south of Fort Bragg. Construction was estimated at $1.6 million, for a total cost of $4.4 million, but last week Fedco Construction Inc. of Santa Rosa was awarded the contract on a bid of $1.36 million, so the total cost should be less, around $4.2 million. Caltrans spokesman Phil Frisbie… 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 »
You need to go to the DMV to get a license, an ID card or such, why not make an appointment online? Well, good luck. Local appointments are tough to get these days, although the DMV says you can go to a DMV office without an appointment and wait your turn. Depending upon how busy things are, you might get lucky and be helped quickly. But then you might not. Curious when the soonest I could get an appointment for… 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 »
