Highway's death toll spurs calls for road improvement
| Monday, Nov 02 2009 11:28 AM
Last Updated Monday, Nov 02 2009 11:28 AM
Two recent crashes on Highway 46 that killed six adults and one infant within days of each other revived attention to the notorious two-lane stretch known as "Blood Alley."
Last Wednesday, three 19-year-olds from the Bay Area and Southern California -- driver Steven Dub and passengers Kayla Shepard and Hilary-Kendall Fix -- were killed on Highway 46 near Wasco when their Toyota Corolla collided head-one wiht a truck after a failed high-speed passing attempt. Five days earlier, on Oct. 23, Shirlene Ann Soto, 62, and Walter Earl Elliott, 84, both of Los Osos, died when their Prius smashed head-on into a Chevy Cavalier that was passing two trucks on Highway 46 near Highway 33. The driver of the Cavalier, Jose Alberto Sanchez, 25, of Avenal, and one-year-old Nathaniel Sanchez, who also killed. A 25-year-old passenger was taken to Kern Medical Center with major injuries. No update on her condition was available Sunday.
Ironically, the accidents arrive just before a groundbreaking ceremony planned for Nov. 10 that will mark the beginning of expanding 46 from two to four lanes.
The improvements will likely be done in segments and the first section calls for work to begin on an eighth-mile section.
"It's been a 10-year journey," said State Sen. Dean Florez, referring to the planned expansion that became one of his first major projects as an assemblyman in the late '90s.
The journey was sparked by a high-profile crash in 1999 on Highway 46 that killed a young woman and left a Bakersfield family badly injured. The crash would set the stage for a public campaign to repair the road.
At the time, the Waski family - parents Michael and Eileen and sons, A.J. and Michael Jr. - was traveling on Highway 46 to the Central Coast to celebrate Independence Day with friends when they were struck by a car driven by 22-year-old Michelle Phillips, also of Bakersfield. She died at the scene, but the Waskis' lives were changed forever. They were hospitalized and some members would later undergo weekly physical, speech and occupational therapy sessions to start over. The family would ultimately sue the state, alleging the road was in dangerous conditions. The state settled for $4 million in 2001.
"The one thing we like is that (Highway 46) is going to be turned into a four-lane highway," Eileen Waski told The Californian after the settlement in 2001. "This family went through pure devastation, hell, hell ... and I hope nobody has to go through that again."
Soon after the 1999 crash, Florez and The Californian Editorial Board launched a highly-publicized "Fix 46" campaign, calling for public action to make 46 a state priority and bring needed dollars to repair the road.
Florez said his involvement did raise criticism from other officials who said he was just looking for media attention. But he said the plan was to fulfill his promise to the Waski family to fix the road that has long connected Bakersfield travelers to the Central Coast.
"This was our big campaign," Florez said. "It caused a lot of ruckus."
Securing the funding, completing a years-long Caltrans environmental study, and acquiring the additional land is what gobbled up the time before the construction of a planned expressway could begin, Florez said.
Despite the number of fatal accidents along the Kern County section of Highway 46, officials still debate how deadly the road really is.
Law enforcement officials have said motorists are causing those crashes, not the road itself. Some travelers are undue risk making unsafe passes that can result in injuries or death.
"We've had good years (no deaths) and bad years," said Lt. Doyle Green, the CHP area commander for the Buttonwillow office. "There's really has nothing to do with the road. Some people are making unsafe passes when they shouldn't."
As to the danger, Highway 46 is no different than any other two-land road, such as Highway 65, 119 or 166, Doyle said. The bigger issue is that motorists need to have patience and put safety first.
"It's basically people who are in a hurry," Doyle said. "They are trying to get to the coast or home. They can't wait so they have to pass."
The speed limit is 55 mph and there's been many times when the CHP has cited drivers for going 70.
Florez, however, says that the road is what makes people impatient, thus the need for four lanes.
"People's impatience is a function of the road, and it's not that people are impatient," Florez said. "Accidents are going to continue to happen unless it's fixed, and this is the only way to get to the coast unless you go" way around.
The planned four-lane expressway will help, Doyle agrees, because it will allow trucks and other slower-moving vehicles to travel on the right.
Of course, careful drivers can also make a difference.
A CHP tasks force in 2008 that focused on highways 46 and 41 allowed officers to devote additional time to those areas, Doyle said, and it resulted in 1,000 additional tickets being issued from the Buttonwillow office.
That task force was made possible through federal grant monies that are not available for 2009.
But "we have funding for Highway 119 this year," he added.
Olivia Garcia is vice president of content of The Californian and blogs at www.livinbakersfield. com. These are her opinions, not necessarily those of The Californian.
