‘Too many lives’ lost, Fresno-area resident said. Latest on effort to widen Highway 41
Fresno-area officials threw their support behind the widening of a southern section of Highway 41 on Wednesday, and now await to see if federal and state funding will bring it to completion.
The Fresno County Transportation Authority’s eight-member board unanimously approved adding to its Measure C list the widening project of a two-lane stretch of 41 from Elkhorn to Excelsior avenues, south of Caruthers.
The Fresno Council of Governments board also voted to support the project with Measure C, the county’s transportation tax, money last month.
The roughly $63 million widening is a way to save lives, according to supporters, on a deadly six-mile stretch that saw five fatal accidents in the last three months of 2020.
Riverdale resident Denise Banuelos said she worries about her husband driving on the two-lane highway in the early hours of the morning on his way to work.
She held back tears as she pleaded for support of the widening. “This stretch of highway has taken too many lives and beyond,” she said.
Officials said their approval leaves an open-ended answer to how much money the authority would commit to the project. Executive Director Mike Leonardo said $10 million will be a fair amount.
The project still needs to clear a hurdle by getting added to the state’s Interregional Transportation Improvement Plan for next year.
Officials with the Fresno County Transportation Authority on Wednesday estimated the project, if it gets all of its funding, could be done in 2025.
A letter from the California Department of Transportation in May said the agency is able to implement the project assuming it gets funding, which includes the $20 million in federal money that Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, is pursuing to complete the widening.
Caltrans is this month installing a number of safety projects on the stretch of highway in question, including a median barrier to prevent cars from crossing the center line. That effort is estimated to take 60 days.
This story was originally published June 9, 2021 at 11:06 AM.
