A ground breaking for the widening of an 8 mi. (13 km) portion of Hwy. 46 was held Nov. 10 in Kern County. This project will widen Hwy. 46 from a two-lane highway to a four lane expressway from 1.9 mi. (3 km) west of State Route 33 to Brown Material Road.

This project will include a 62 ft. (19 cm) center median and the existing intersections within the project limits will be upgraded to accommodate truck traffic. In addition, the intersection of State Route 33 will be signalized and realigned. The contractor for this $25 million dollar project is the Griffith Company of Brea, Calif. This project is expected to be completed in mid-2012.

Construction is already well under way on the $30 million project to widen 5 mi. (8 km) of Hwy. 46 from two to four lanes from Airport Road to Geneseo Road. This project is expected to be completed in late 2010. The second phase of this widening would take place from Geneseo to Whitley Gardens and the project is ahead of schedule.

“I am pleased that we are now simultaneously improving Hwy. 46 from both ends of this busy corridor. The widening of Hwy. 46 from Paso Robles to the San Joaquin Valley is a top priority that will result in a much safer highway, said Caltrans District 5 Director Rich Krumholz.”

Those who spoke at the groundbreaking included San Luis Obispo County Council of Governments Director Ron DeCarli and Fix 46 Committee Chair Mary Chambers.

For more information, call 805/549-3318 or visit www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/maint/road/upslo.htm.

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