Caltrans wasn't supposed to build a freeway lane without environmental review, but many believe that's exactly what it did. Environmentalists are now trying to stop its use as a toll lane.
Underneath the Yolo Causeway near Sacramento, where a nearly half-billion-dollar effort is underway to add toll lanes to Interstate 80 and ease congestion, swollen rivers fill wetlands in the winter season and bat colonies roost in the bridge's grooves in warm months. More than a century old, the road that connects the Bay Area to the state capital has become a symbol and a test of both the future of highway expansion in California and the climate change policies that seek to restrict it.
And they greenlighted tolling, which Caltrans said will ease congestion by as much as 80% eastbound during evening rush hour. Unions and construction companies that build highways cheered the vote. 'We know that for every billion dollars invested in infrastructure 15,000 jobs are created,' Jon Switalski, executive director of the Rebuild SoCal Partnership, told the commission last month.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
State budget deficit threatens to gut Caltrans 'Reconnecting Communities' programThe latest budget proposal out of Sacramento would cut the program — which is meant to help heal the social and environmental damage caused by freeways — to a third of its original size.
Read more »
Caltrans taking public comment for another month on massive VT Bridge projectWork to replace the road bed on the mile-long Vincent Thomas Bridge is expected to cause traffic disruption throughout the immediate region.
Read more »
Caltrans ‘multimodal’ transition on Western Avenue draws heat from San PedroWestern Avenue has a long history of being a transportation problem that needs to be fixed.
Read more »
Caltrans to begin overnight repair work on Niles Canyon Road portion of Highway 84Caltrans said it’s aiming for a November finish but unforeseen events could delay it.
Read more »
Caltrans: Concrete gap under freeway overpass in viral video is expansion jointSome SoCal drivers are concerned about what looks like a gap in the concrete with debris falling out under a freeway overpass, but Caltrans says not to worry.
Read more »
Caltrans: Concrete gap under freeway overpass in viral video is expansion jointSome SoCal drivers are concerned about what looks like a gap in the concrete with debris falling out under a freeway overpass, but Caltrans says not to worry.
Read more »