Finally, a little bit of progress on this critical project. From the Times-Standard:
“The California Transportation Commission voted Wednesday to approve $5 million to fund environmental and geotechnical studies on a proposal to reroute the landslide-prone section of U.S. Highway 101 known as Last Chance Grade in Del Norte County, according to local government representatives…”
The reasons for spending our limited transportation budgets on basic maintenance and repairs instead of destructive, unnecessary highway expansions keep piling up this winter. From the Times-Standard:
“Caltrans said today the slide on U.S. Highway 101 north of Leggett is still active and it has not had the opportunity to clear debris from the site.
Although Caltrans reported Monday the area could open by Wednesday, that is no longer the case. At this time, there is no estimated opening of the route….”
Trinity County recognized a bad idea when it saw one. From the Times-Standard:
“…The feasibility study, [Tom Wheeler] said, would have likely led to the train’s construction. ‘The government doesn’t like to just spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to say ‘it’s infeasible,’ he said.”
From the Times-Standard:
“After a 10-foot section of U.S. Highway 101 just south of Crescent City known as Last Chance Grade collapsed Monday because of the area’s notorious landslide activity, local legislators called for increased pressure for the construction of an alternate route….”
The dire state of our existing transportation infrastructure highlights the foolishness of expanding our highways and inviting more big, road- and bridge-damaging trucks into the North Coast. Even the major revenue-raising measure currently proposed would at best only allow us to maintain existing roads and bridges a little better.
From the Times-Standard:
“…’Our road systems are falling apart,’ [Humboldt County Public Works Director Thomas] Mattson said. ‘It’s got to be paid for one way or another.'”
From the Manteca Bulletin:
“…Lathrop Road, not having the STAA designation, was not engineered with the proper road base to support the weight of these long haul trucks traversing it daily. This is evidenced by the mere fact that within a few short years after it was paved with new asphalt, it is deteriorating to the point that major work is going to be needed soon.…”
From the Times-Standard:
“Highways, freeways, bridges and streets across the state are past due for repairs and upgrades — and in need of billions to make it happen — which is why state Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) placed obtaining transportation infrastructure funding for his North Coast constituents at the top of his to-do list this year….”
Richard Salzman writes in last week’s North Coast Journal:
“…We do not need to be putting more large trucks on 199 perched above the Smith River, nor on Highway 101 between southern Mendocino and northern Humboldt County, where 101 has long stretches with curves that strain the suspension of most vehicles driving at 65 mph, never mind if a deer or a loose tire suddenly crosses your path. In such a situation, the one thing you do not want, is to be alongside of, or head-on with, an oversized truck…”
From the Triplicate:
“…Wanting to protect all our neighbors and visitors along with the Smith River and all that it supports [from STAA trucks] is hardly what I would call frivolous. I call it sensible.”
Read the full “Coastal Voices” op-ed by Hiouchi resident Willie Gilbert here.
From the Times-Standard letters section:
“Rumor has it that Caltrans may still be cooking up plans for the highway expansion project for big trucks in Richardson Grove State Park, despite being rebuked by the courts two years ago. If this is true, I hope Caltrans will allow the public to comment, and that they’ll take our input seriously….”
Read the full letter here.