Paicines area residents like Sonya Taylor are upset over Caltrans’ $1.5 million curve realignment on Airline Highway near Pinnacles National Park, arguing it decreases safety levels and costs too much money.
Caltrans is working on the project south of the national park that involves cutting through the hillside “at a particularly tight curve to provide a straighter section with better sight distance.” The new section of the two-lane road, as Caltrans describes it in environmental documents, will be 900 feet long and 40 feet wide.
Taylor, though, said all the neighboring rural residents are “furious” over the project while contending it will negatively impact safety and wastes money. She said Caltrans bought part of her family’s property for the realignment.
“When you see what they did to that hill, first of all, the rocks are going to start falling,” Taylor said.
She said before, it was a wide turn and created a nice spot for sightseers to pull over. Now, Caltrans has made it a “really, really narrow passageway through a cliff,” she said. She’s concerned that without the curve, drivers might go straight through her driveway and over a 30-foot drop-off.
“None of us can figure out what they were trying to do,” Taylor said.
For Caltrans, the project was a response to a relatively high number of accidents, including fatal collisions, at the location. In project documents, Caltrans noted that during a three-year period studied for the project—2006 through 2008—there were 12.07 collisions per million vehicle miles versus a 1.75 average statewide. Caltrans also mentioned in its report that the speed limit is 55 mph but a posted sign warned drivers to take the curve at 25 mph.
Caltrans District 5 spokeswoman Susana Cruz said the state agency looks to meet certain safety criteria that the curve hadn’t met. She said Caltrans appreciates the public’s concerns, but that the agency was working to make the area safer.
“If there have been a number of accidents, it warrants for a curve realignment or correction,” she said.
