Starting now, drivers along Highway 46 in the Cholame area should expect a temporary lane change as part of the final steps in the Highway 46 widening project.
Traffic between the Shandon Rest Area and the 46/41 "Y" interchange will be directed onto a new segment of roadway that will eventually become the westbound lanes of Highway 46 East.
The temporary traffic switch will be in place while construction is underway on the new eastbound lanes of the highway.
According to Caltrans, the widening project will transform the two-lane highway into a four-lane divided expressway and make the road safer for everyone.
“I think that anyone who has lived in San Luis Obispo County for a number of years certainly has heard of the history of traffic incidents that we have had on Highway 46 East," said Jim Shivers, Caltrans District 5 spokesperson. "Many of them have been quite serious. And so for nearly 20 years, we have embarked on these widening projects which started near Paso Robles around 2007.”
Businesses will remain open during the traffic shift. A temporary driveway constructed east of Bitterwater Road allows drivers access to Bitterwater Road and the Jack Ranch Café.
“Highway 46 East is a major east-west interregional route, which has experienced higher volumes of traffic over a number of years," Shivers explained. "These widening projects in a very practical, very easy way, enhance safety for for everyone.”
The traffic shift is expected to last until early summer.
“When this is all said and done, the last segment will be the Antelope Grade," Shivers said. "That project is on the horizon and then we'll have a continuous widening of Highway 46 from Paso Robles on the Central Coast to Lost Hills in the Central Valley.”
