Free Republic

In the latest step toward the rebirth of San Francisco’s Presidio from an aging former Army base to a bright light of America’s national park system, crews are set to break ground Thursday on a project to build a new 14-acre public park on top of two freeway tunnels near the Golden Gate Bridge. When finished in 2021, the unusual project, called Tunnel Tops, will link Crissy Field, on San Francisco’s waterfront, to the Presidio’s Main Post, parade grounds and visitor’s center. That connection was severed more than 80 years ago when the road to and from the Golden Gate...

Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger celebrated when the California Transportation Commission voted, despite a host of warnings, to pay a contractor more than $1 billion to build two tunnels and a stretch of road outside San Francisco nine years ago. Schwarzenegger said the project’s new approach, which aimed to cap public expenses and shift responsibility to the private sector, would serve as a “shining example” of an innovative way to improve the state’s highways while saving taxpayer dollars. Now the project, known as the Presidio Parkway, is more than two years late and $208 million over budget. When the commission approved...

Marin transportation officials were cautiously optimistic Monday after a recent court ruling upheld a major funding source for several local highway projects, but the funding could be in limbo because of appeals. “We have tremendous congestion and these projects are congestion relievers,” said Dianne Steinhauser, executive director of the Transportation Authority of Marin. “We hear from the public constantly about how bad the congestion is right now. We’re hoping that this money starts flowing. It’d be great to see it by the end of 2019.” Regional Measure 3, the June 2018 ballot measure that increases tolls for seven Bay Area...

Caltrans will widen striping and increase visibility on 1,027 lane miles of U.S. Highway 101 from the San Benito/Santa Clara County line to the Santa Barbara/Ventura County line, thanks to funding by Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017.“The wider and brighter striping will make it easier for all drivers and truckers to see the lane lines,” said Caltrans Director Laurie Berman. “The highly reflective striping will improve safety for road users, especially during rainy days. The six-inch striping will also take up more surface so it will be more durable and last longer,...

Three people were killed when a wrong-way driver going about 100 mph slammed into another vehicle on 101 Freeway in Ventura, officials said Thursday. Emergency crews responded just after midnight to a collision on the southbound side of the freeway near Seaward Avenue, the Ventura City Fire Department stated in a news release. Firefighters found two vehicles that were involved in a high-speed head-on collision. One of the vehicles was hanging from the guard rail on Lemon Grove Bridge as the second vehicle came to a stop on the roadway about 50 yards to the north. Three adults found inside...