State allocates $135 million for four-lane expressway on Highway 46 East
Project will create four-lane expressway from west of Shandon Roadside Rest Area to east of Jack Ranch Café
–The widening of Hwy. 46 East from the Shandon Roadside Rest Area to west of the Jack Ranch Café has received an allocation of $135 million from the California Transportation Commission (CTC) which will allow the project to begin construction this spring.
“I am very pleased that we are moving forward on another widening of a five-mile segment of this important east-west corridor,” said Caltrans District 5 Director Tim Gubbins. “This project moves us one step closer to a four-lane divided highway from San Luis Obispo County to the San Joaquin Valley.”
The widening of this segment of Hwy 46 East follows four completed phases from Paso Robles leading to the Hwy. 46/41 intersection. The $47 million widening of Highway 46 East from McMillan Canyon Road to Lucy Brown Road was completed in 2019. The $38 million widening of Hwy. 46 East from Almond Drive to McMillan Canyon Road was completed in 2016. The widening of Hwy. 46 from Geneseo Road to east of Almond Drive was completed in 2014 while the widening of Hwy. 46 from Airport Road to Geneseo Road wrapped up in 2010.
“The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) Board of Directors is excited to see the continued progress within this corridor,” said SLOCOG Executive Director Peter Rodgers.
The contractor for this $116 million project is Atkinson Construction of Irvine, CA. A project to reconfigure the Highway 46 East/State Route 41 “Wye” Interchange is expected to begin construction on 2024.
At the completion of these corridor project, Highway 46 East will become a 4-lane divided expressway from US 101 in Paso Robles to I-5 in Lost Hills in Kern County.
The California Transportation Commission announced last week that it allocated $589 million for projects to repair and improve transportation infrastructure throughout the state. Senate Bill (SB) 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, accounts for $302 million – more than half of the funding.
“This investment follows our ‘fix-it-first’ commitment to repair California’s aging infrastructure, while at the same time increasing transit and active transportation options,” said Caltrans Director Toks Omishakin. “These projects will make our transportation system safer and more convenient for all users and create thousands of good paying jobs in the process.”
Projects approved also include a $2.7 million allocation to install rock slope protection to prevent impacts to the bridge foundation of the Soquel Creek Bridge on Highway 1 in Capitola in Santa Cruz County.
Caltrans also presented the CTC with the draft 2022 State Highway Operation and Protection Program (SHOPP) at last week’s meeting. Aimed at preserving the condition of the highway system, the draft 2022 SHOPP accounts for $17.3 billion in funding over a four-year period and includes projects for safety, restoration, road and bridge preservation, and other highway-related facilities.
The CTC will host a public hearing in February to receive comments on the draft SHOPP. All the comments will be considered in the final version that goes before the CTC for adoption at its March meeting. All 2022 SHOPP projects are available on the Caltrans’ Ten-Year Project Book website, ProjectBook.dot.ca.gov.
For more information about transportation projects funded by SB 1, visit RebuildingCA.ca.gov.
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