US 395 Expressway Improvements - High Desert (I-15 to SR 14)

[andy3175]

I seemed to have missed this from last summer, but evidently improvements are coming to US 395 in the High Desert (and while I've heard of this before, I couldn't find a thread already discussing this topic, so I thought I'd bring it forward. Hopefully I'm not being repetitive/redundant with other threads). This first link connects to a list of projects planned along the US 395 corridor between I-15 in the south and SR 14 in the north:

http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist8/projects/san_bernardino/us395/index.htm (Main Index of US 395 Projects)

http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist8/projects/san_bernardino/us395/pdf/395_map_lrg.pdf (Fact Sheet and Map - 8 separate projects)

Even the High Desert Draft EIR mentions US 395 improvements as follows:

http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist07/HDC/HDC_Draft_EIR-EIS/docs/00_Cover,%20Title%20and%20Summary.pdf

Route 395 Expressway — Caltrans will reconstruct U.S. Highway 395 (US 395) into a four-lane expressway and provide at-grade intersections for existing street crossings. Phase 1 will widen US 395 from SR-18/Palmdale Road to Chamberlaine Way in Adelanto, Phase 2 will widen US 395 from Chamberlaine Way to Desert Flower Road, and Phase 3 will involve work from I-15 to SR-18.

And I was able to find the one article from August 2014:

http://www.desertdispatch.com/article/20140811/News/140819997

Robert Thomas dreads visiting his mother-in-law's Ridgecrest home. Thomas said it's not the relationship with his mother-in-law that makes the trip from Imperial County dreadful, it's the 90-mile stretch of Highway 395 from Interstate 15 to Ridgecrest.

What was once considered a rural route, the two-lane highway has become an inter-regional thoroughfare with increasing demand for goods movement, commuting and recreational travelers, according to Caltrans officials. Caltrans is in the environmental report stages of a $483 million project to add an additional lane in each direction of Highway 395.

According to Caltrans public information officer Shelli Lombardo, the construction phases are not expected to begin until late 2016, barring any "unforeseen" circumstances. In the meantime, Caltrans has rejuvenated areas of Highway 395 in the High Desert, including a $21 million, 16-mile project expected to be completed within the next year. The project, which starts on Palmdale Road and runs just south of Highway 58, saw installations of rumble strips, and widening of the median and shoulders along the road. But the primary goal is reconstructing the existing road into a four-lane expressway, Caltrans public information officer Philip Havins said. The project will widen Highway 395 to two lanes in each direction, from Interstate 15 to an area near Desert Flower Road, just south of Kramer Junction.

Since January 2004, there have been 190 traffic collisions in the Victorville CHP jurisdiction of Highway 395, officer Robert Grieve said. Nine of those collisions resulted in 10 fatalities, while 80 resulted in injuries, according to Grieve.

[andy3175]

An interim measure to improve safety along US 395 south of CA 58 is making news as town hall meetings are scheduled at Kramer Junction on Thursday 4/30 as described below.

http://www.desertdispatch.com/article/20150423/NEWS/150429978

The proposed project is 6.9 miles long, approximately 2.5 miles north of Kramer Hills to Kramer Junction. It would widen the existing roadbed by adding a four-foot median buffer and eight-foot shoulders. Caltrans also would install rumble strips on the centerline and shoulders, and also restore 3.7 miles of passing lanes in both directions.

The project's purpose is to reduce the number and severity of traffic collisions on Highway 395. According to figures from Caltrans' Traffic Accident Surveillance and Analysis System, between Jan. 1, 2010 and Dec. 31, 2012 fatalities and total collisions for that stretch of road was lower than the statewide average. But the fatal plus injury rate is higher than the state average. ...

The project is programmed into the 2014 State Highway Operation and Protection Program as a reservation project, under the Safety Improvement Program. Caltrans estimates the total construction and right of way cost of the project at approximately $39.4 million, according to the Environmental Assessment.