Valley leaders remain worried plans to widen Highways 99 and 46 won’t move forward
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order to redirect Central San Joaquin Valley highway dollars toward rail projects has been met with great skepticism from Valley leaders, who say the highways are not only dangerous but are a major part of the economy.
The state Department of Transportation, following Newsom’s executive order, released a plan in October to move $32 million meant to widen Highway 99 in Madera and Tulare counties, as well as Highway 46 in San Luis Obispo. The money collected through gas taxes would go to rail projects.
Valley leaders on Friday said Newsom’s plan seems to run up against what he said last week at the Economic Summit in Fresno. “I care deeply about this damn Valley because I care about this state,” Newsom said Nov. 8.
The gas tax dollars in question were made possible by Senate Bill 1 in 2017, and voters rejected its repeal last year.
Under Newsom’s executive order, Caltrans must “reduce congestion through innovative strategies designed to encourage people to shift from cars to other modes of transportation.”
However, while speaking with The Fresno Bee’s Editorial Board on Nov. 8, Newsom acknowledged the original Caltrans proposal lacked clarity, but said the plans to widen Highways 99 and 46 will move forward.
“That was a staff level draft and it was ambiguous in how it coincided with an executive order — one from my office, one from Caltrans,” he said. “We have provided clarity. We are making sure our Caltrans director David Kim has made commitments to the region and Highway 46. ... I think we have facts to calm the nerves.”
Madera Mayor Andy Medellin said the congestion problems on 99 are due to trucks hauling merchandise, traveling next to commuters as they go from three-lane highways north and south of Madera to dual-lanes on the outskirts of town.
“I can tell you — even today — that those lanes are congested five days a week for at least three hours at a time,” he said. “On that freeway is produce, cattle and dairy that sit there in the hot summer idling.”
But Valley leaders said widening the highways would not only improve congestion and air quality but save lives. “This is important to us,” Assemblyman Jim Patterson, R-Fresno, said. “All of us know that when there are three lanes on Highway 99, people are safer.”
The 400-mile highway that runs through the centers of Sacramento, Fresno, Tulare and other Valley cities recorded 62 fatal accidents per 100 miles over a recent five-year span, marking it the deadliest highway in the country in a 2016 analysis.
The report came from ValuePenguin, a private consumer research organization based in New York that analyzes consumer data.
Highway 46
Highway 46 is not much better and is commonly called “Blood Alley,” according to Kern County Supervisor David Couch. The highway touches disadvantaged communities like Lost Hills, Wasco and Delano.
“These communities need jobs. Affordable, safe, clean goods movement helps create badly needed jobs in those communities,” he said.
Highway 46 connects Interstate 5 in Kern County to Highway 101 in San Luis Obispo County. Not getting the state dollars in San Luis Obispo has an added affect for the coastal community, according to John DiNunzio, transportation planner for the county’s Council of Governments.
So-called “self-help counties” like Fresno and Los Angeles have a revenue stream to use as matching dollars when applying for state and federal grants. Merced County, for example, passed Measure V in 2016 to become self-help.
Deleting funding for Highway 46 kills the only source of matching dollars for San Luis Obispo, DiNunzio said.
“It also deletes our ability to pursue federal funds,” he said. “(San Luis Obispo) is not a self-help county, and so without the state’s assistance we are unable to identify the needed local match.”
New proposal from Caltrans
The California Department of Transportation on Friday unveiled some new proposals that could hold $21 million in reserve while officials attempt to work out additional money for Highways 99 and 46 before the plan has to be finalized in December. But, the proposal hasn’t yet guaranteed funding.
“The Department of Transportation remains committed to projects on the Highway 99 and Highway 46 corridor,” Caltrans CFO Steven Keck said on Friday.
Valley officials are looking for a guarantee. Tulare County Supervisor Pete Vanderpool’s District 2 has about 33 miles of Highway 99. Tulare County exports agricultural goods to more than 90 countries, and the industry relies on highways.
He said the new proposal is a good first step. “I do think there is some progress made, but it doesn’t go far enough to get us where we need to be,” he said.
The comment period for the California Transportation Commission was set to end this week but has been extended to Nov. 25, because of the amount of interest the plan has drawn, according to Caltrans.
