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$88 million planned for widening Hwy. 46 

highway 46 road work

Five miles from the Shandon Rest Stop to the Jack Ranch Cafe are recommended for widening. Image from Google Maps.

The California Transportation Commission recently received a recommendation from its staff to spend $88 million to widen five miles of Highway 46 from the Shandon Roadside Rest Area to the Jack Ranch Cafe. The CTC is also expected to program $19 million for right-of-way/design work to widen Highway 46 East at the junction with State Route 41.

This funding is part of the State Transportation Improvement Program for 2014, which is used for state highway projects that can provide congestion relief. About 25 percent of this funding is dedicated to non-urban areas and is part of the Inter-Regional Transportation Improvement Program (ITIP). This funding will allow the progress of widening Hwy. 46 from U.S. Highway 101 to Interstate 5 to continue. Caltrans District 5 will receive 35 percent or $107 million of the total 2014 ITIP allocation of about $300 million statewide.

With approximately 46 miles of roadway completed or funded through construction, Caltrans, SLOCOG and Kern County have continued working to secure funding for the 16-mile gap of highway which has not yet been widened. The remaining section of Hwy. 46 to be funded includes a three-mile section of the “Antelope Grade”.

This new funding recommended by the CTC, will ensure a reliable and safe east-west transportation system for residents, visitors and freight between the central coast and central valley.

“This recommendation will allow us to continue widening Hwy. 46 East for another five miles and allows for design work for another four miles which is a huge benefit to everyone who uses this important east-west corridor. We are grateful that the CTC sees the value in investing in our region’s transportation infrastructure,” said Caltrans District 5 Director Tim Gubbins.

The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) is the regional transportation agency that has continued to make this corridor a priority. “Our multi-agency effort to ensure that funding is provided to widen Hwy. 46 has been very successful. We remain committed to improving the infrastructure throughout the county and are proud of the success we’ve had working with Caltrans on this very important issue in our region”, said Shelley Higginbotham, President of SLOCOG.

In addition, the CTC staff made recommendations to provide additional funding for the U.S. Highway 101/Los Osos Valley Road Interchange Project scheduled for construction in the spring 2015, the Brisco/Halcyon Road Interchange project in Arroyo Grande in the summer of 2016 and the Price Canyon Road widening and bike lane project scheduled to begin this summer.

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About the author: Publisher Scott Brennan

Scott Brennan is the publisher of this newspaper and founder of Access Publishing. Follow him on Twitter, LinkedIn, or follow his blog.