SPECIAL REPORT: The Central Coast’s scariest roads
For many drivers, there’s one stretch of road that’s just the worst. Too steep. Too fast. Too slow.
KION viewers had no trouble coming up with their scariest roads.
Lynn wrote: “Come to Prunedale.”
That’s where you’ll find a whole lot of challenges.
In order to join 101 from 156, cars have to drive in a tight circle, and while they’re trying to get up to highway speed, other cars are moving to the right to get gas.
“There’s the merge off of San Miguel, there’s the entry and exit at the gas station, there’s Vierra Canyon, there’s Berta Canyon. There is a plan to do a whole redo of that intersection but it’s really expensive. It’s about 200 million dollars,” said Debbie Hale, executive director of the Transportation Agency for Monterey County.
Transportation officials hope money from Measure X and California’s gas tax will help there and on other scary roads.
Another scary spot we heard about was 101 south of Salinas.
Most of the time, traffic merges onto the highway from the right and enters the slow lane. Here, Abbott Street joins from the left, merging into what is traditionally the fast lane. Drivers need to get up to freeway speed quickly to merge with traffic.
“They would never build something like that now because it is a left hand merge and they don’t do those anymore, so it’s probably been around for decades,” said Hale. “We’re going to start working later this year coming up with a concept — what makes the most sense there. Clearly, a full interchange somewhere in that area is going to be needed.”
Of course, road work offers its own challenges. Spring and summer are construction season, when detours and heavy equipment can mean headaches for driver.
In Santa Cruz County, the Fishhook interchange and Highway 17 have long been considered scary.
Here, you find both locals who are familiar with the road, and visitors who aren’t.
“And not all the visitors have the experience of driving on mountain roads, and so it can be a challenge,” said Amy Naranjo, a transportation planner with the Santa Cruz Regional Transportation Commission.
To address that challenge, the county’s regional transportation commission has established the Safe on 17 task force, using state and local funds to educate drivers and enforce speed and distracted driving laws.
Viewers also mentioned several city streets where drivers ignore stoplights and speed through intersections.
Officials say they listen to all complaints and when money is available, they’ll be working to make them “less scary.”
