November 10, 2017 – During Tuesday’s November 7th Board of Supervisors Meeting, the Board adopted a Resolution requesting that Caltrans re-evaluates its proposed Safety Improvement Project on Highway 174. Both Caltrans and Save Highway 174, a community group concerned with Caltrans’ proposed safety improvements, spoke to the Board about the project at the October 24th Board Meeting, resulting in the creation and adoption of the November 7th Resolution.
The Highway 174 Safety Improvement Project will realign several curves, widen shoulders, widen the Clear Recovery Zone (CRZ) from Maple Way to You Bet Road, and add a southbound left-turn pocket at Greenhorn Access Road intersection. Caltrans is applying an adaptive solution that proposes the removal of approximately 1,700 trees, will require 20 feet of clearance from the edge of the road, and will impact 49 parcels in the area.
Moving forward, the Board also directed County staff to start researching and identifying what the necessary steps would be to designate Highway 174 as a State Scenic Highway in order to inform the Board of the pros and cons, and potential impacts of a designation.
The Board is not currently taking any action towards designating Highway 174 as a State Scenic Highway at this time, but rather starting the preliminary stages of research into what a designation would take and what its implications would be.