Highway 99 to widen near Atwater

By 2011, Caltrans will add two lanes

By SCOTT JASON
MERCED SUN-STAR

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ATWATER -- Caltrans began work on another part in the plan to improve the stretch of Highway 99 through Merced County.

The $43 million project will widen about two miles of the highway from north of Atwater to Arena Way, southeast of Livingston.

Also, a new interchange will be built at Westside Boulevard between Atwater and Livingston. Four at-grade crossings will be eliminated. Work is expected to finish in spring 2011, Caltrans spokeswoman Lisa Balcom said.

The project is being funded by Proposition 1B, the $19.9 billion transportation bond passed by voters November 2006.

The construction picks up where Caltrans' work south of Livingston ended earlier this year. The highway was rebuilt to hold six lanes of traffic, though it's still restricted to four lanes to avoid bottlenecks.

The Sultana Drive interchange also was constructed as part of the project.

The ultimate goal is to revamp Highway 99 so that it can allow for more traffic and growth. The state plans to make the highway six lanes wide from Sacramento through Bakersfield.

Once Caltrans finishes in Atwater, it will work on Highway 99 from Mission Avenue south of the city of Merced to Madera County, said Jesse Brown, executive director of the Merced County Association of Governments. That work also is being funded by the proposition.

No money has been found to widen the highway through the city limits of Livingston, Atwater and Merced, he said.

Brown said he thinks that Caltrans will open the six lanes from south of Livingston north to Atwater once the current project is finished. It will relieve some congestion and increase safety along that stretch, he said.