Drive between Valley and Coast will be getting safer
KETTLEMAN CITY, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Y shaped intersection, where Highway 41 and Highway 46 come together is among the state's deadliest. According to news reports, 7 people died at or near the intersection in 2017.
"There's been a long history of serious collisions, head-on collisions, and collisions caused by motorists making unsafe passing maneuvers," said Jim Shivers of Caltrans.
A memorial to actor James Dean, killed here in a head-on collision 63 years ago is nearby.
The intersection, often called the Y is adjacent to the turnoff to the town of Parkfield, and Barb Varian, who owns the local restaurant is happy to learn something will finally be done.
"I think it's a very good idea. We are very concerned about that road, we don't even take that road at this point because it is so dangerous."
Caltrans says the main feature of the new interchange will be an overpass.
For motorists traveling from the Coast back to Fresno, "they will take a dedicated ramp that will go over the existing lanes of Highway 46 and then north to Highway 41," said Shivers.
The project is expected to cost $140 million. It's still in the design phase and work is not expected to get underway for 3 or 4 years. But, it will eventually make travel to and from the coast safer.
