Upgrading the James Dean Memorial Junction (Eastern Intersection of 41 and 46)

[bing101]

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/fix-california-blood-alley-nearly-done-19466552.php

Here is a Follow up article on the CA-46 @ CA-41 Intersection and the current status of the project.

In 2005, Caltrans began work on the [color=var(--black)]State Route 46 Corridor Improvement Project[/color]. The goal was to "minimize fatal accidents, improve safety, and reduce existing and future peak-hour congestion" on "one of the few east-west routes connecting Interstate 5 to U.S. Highway 101." From Paso Robles to the junction of State Routes 41 and 46, Caltrans is expanding two-lane highways to four-lane expressways.
One component of the project is creating an elevated interchange where the two highways meet. The flyover interchange will replace the Y-shaped junction currently in place, hopefully keeping drivers safer as they merge. The [color=var(--black)]Bakersfield Californian reports[/color] that the intersection currently sees three times the state average for traffic fatalities. The Cholame section began construction in March 2022. The $124.5 million fix is expected to wrap up by the fall. The corridor improvement project won't be complete for a few more years, however. The last major project, the widening of the Antelope Grade section, won't be underway until 2026.

[LilianaUwU]

It only took them 70 years, and that doesn't account for delays that might still happen.

[dbz77]

It only took them 70 years, and that doesn't account for delays that might still happen.

I am surprised they never put a traffic signal there in those seventy years!

[Max Rockatansky]

The whole area east of Paso Robles is weird.  Not a lot of people live out there even in modern times.  It wasn't until 1957 that the Estrella River had more than a single lane bridge (early CA 41).  US 466 west of Creston was the last dirt US Route segment in California and that lasted until 1958.

There was a two lane expressway east from Paso Robles to Polino Pass by 1960.  I'm sure at the time that upgrade was sufficient to handle to post James Dean crash traffic.  It was 41 over Cottonwood Pass that really began to take off in modern times.