Why the hell are they widening it? Wait, I bet I know: they want less traffic! I bet they think more lanes = less cars as if the population will always remain constant. If they want less traffic, they should build infrastructure for other modes of transport; but I guess everyone reading this already knows this. Funny that the people making these decisions don’t…
https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-6/district-6-projects/06-0h220
The purpose of the project is to reduce congestion by increasing capacity, improving connectivity of the highway system, and preserving acceptable facility operation.
Yep… imbeciles.
Construction Cost: $126,860,000
How much does yearly maintenance of a train track cost?
@jabathekek @Flax_vert “preserving acceptable facility operation” = continue killing & injuring the same number of people we currently are, or increasing it a bit since there will be more people driving on the expanded facility
99 is quickly becoming a majorly trafficked freeway as the Central Valley is rapidly growing due to cheap land, well paying jobs and… a new high speed rail being built right alongside 99. It’s literally all the news about California’s “massive waste of money” high speed rail. I’m planning on high speed rail growing the valleys commerce and output due to ease of travel. However 99 is insanely small and has tons of rough patches and cracked roads due to decades of neglect.
126 million is small potatoes in this state. Especially when it’s likely that state, federal, and cities/counties are also kicking in money for this operation. Madera, Merced, Fresno, that whole stretch is growing like crazy right now.
We asked a group of highway industry experts and they informed us the best thing to do is to build more highways
Caltrans has promised the landmark won’t be gone for good; the department plans to create a new landmark along the side of the highway featuring 15 palms and 15 pines. An irrigation system would also be installed to prevent them from dying.
But some say the replacement won’t hold the same symbolic weight as the two lone trees. “[The new trees] will only be on one side of the highway and most travelers are probably going to miss it since it’s just going to be a bunch of trees,” said Michael Ballard, president of the Historic Highway 99 Association of California
I drive this route regularly (like 2 times a month) and I’ve literally never noticed the two trees. A cool rest stop visible one with an actual plaque to learn a bit about the location would be way more useful instead of a median tree that we’re supposed to understand while passing at 80mph.
Ballard’s non-profit association already had a tentative design for signs to be placed on the northbound and southbound sides of the highway before it was announced that the Palm and the Pine would be removed. The mockups feature a pictograph of a palm and a pine and read “Halfway between Oregon and Mexico” and “Halfway between Mexico and Oregon”.
Ballard believes an official marker is important, since there’s nothing else along the state’s other major routes that commemorates the transition from north to south. “They’re just trees alongside the road for most people,” said Ballard. “With the signage there, more people would be aware of it, and more people would understand the significance.”
