The City of Paso Robles announced it is moving into the design phase of its Intersection Improvements Project, a plan intended to improve traffic conditions along Highway 46.
Driver Michael Camou drives Highway 46 every other month and believes an overpass at the Union Road intersection would help improve safety.
"That Union Road needs to be fixed," Camou said. "People don't know how to drive.
Another driver, William Donahoe, said he notices the most traffic on Sundays.
"It flows pretty good but… Sundays it gets really backed up,” Donahoe said.
In 2009, Caltrans conducted a comprehensive corridor study on Highway 46 between Golden Hill Road and an area just east of Airport Road. They identified the intersection of Union Road and Highway 46 as a “high priority location for improvement” due to limited access to both sides of the highway.
In 2014, Caltrans and the City of Paso Robles developed the SR 46 East Union Road Intersection Improvements project, proposing to construct an overpass and partial cloverleaf interchange at the Union Road and Highway 46 intersection.
Phase 1 of the project is estimated to cost $52 million and would include the construction of the overpass, while Phase 2 is estimated to cost $118 million and focuses on the partial cloverleaf interchange.
According to Paso Robles Public Works Director Freda Berman, a construction timeline has not yet been approved.
