Summary: Wednesday, December 23, 2015 / 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. When the public invests huge amounts of money in providing new infrastructure, it properly expects that this new infrastructure will be used to its capacity. If a new highway is created, for example, often costing hundreds of millions of dollars, the public should expect that the new facilities will be used. That does turn out to be the case, too. When a highway is widened, or a new highway is constructed, traffic patterns change, and “induced demand” calls people onto the new highway that wouldn’t have gone there before. Congestion relief is often (in fact usually) very temporary. Again, that only makes sense. When the public spends lots of money for a new highway or a highway widening project, it will end up using that new capacity. There is a project in Monterey County that essentially calls for a new highway to link the existing Highway One, near Castroville, with the existing Highway 101, near Prunedale. The so-called “State Route 156 West Corridor Project” would turn the existing two-lane highway into a frontage road, and would build a new, four-lane freeway between Castroville and Prunedale. And there’s a twist; the new four-lane facility would be a toll road. You’d have to pay to use it. You can get the facts about this proposed project by checking the links in today’s blog posting at kusp.org/landuse. More Information: Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Caltrans Project Page For Proposed Highway 156 Project
