$37 million widening project on Hwy 46 completed

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The $37 million Highway 46 widening project was officially completed Monday morning.

Crews widened the entire 60-mile portion of Highway 46 between Interstate 5 and Highway 101 from two lanes to four.

This all comes after dozens of people died in crashes on that stretch of highway alone, earning it the name of “Blood Alley.”

Every other part of the highway has been widened and separated by a median. Now the Lost Hills oil field was the last stretch to get an upgrade.

The ribbon-cutting happened at 9 a.m. Monday morning and now the lanes are flowing with traffic — with passenger cars now able to safely pass slower big rigs.

“At Caltrans, we continue to focus on improving, you know, the system. And so that was part of the widening this piece of it, is how could we create a safe corridor, not only for the people, but also for that freight movement,” Diana Gomez with CalTrans said.

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