Crash deaths near Cholame ‘Y’ are ‘unacceptable,’ Jordan Cunningham tells Caltrans

Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham wrote a letter to Caltrans on Monday, calling for new safety measures on Highways 41 and 46, a deadly stretch of road long known as “Blood Alley.”

In the past two months, six people have died near the Cholame “Y,” the junction of Highways 41 and 46. Cunningham, who called the deaths “unacceptable,” asked Caltrans Executive Director Malcolm Dougherty to take immediate action and analyze what could be done to make both roads safer.

“These two highways are critical connectors between the Central Coast and the Central Valley,” Cunningham wrote. “They are also critically dangerous.”

The most recent fatal crash happened Saturday morning.

A history of fatalities along Highway 46 East earned the area the nickname “Blood Alley,” but work to widen and divide the road have made it safer in recent years. The curvy stretch between Shandon and the Cholame “Y” is currently under construction but remains perilous without dividers or separation for the oncoming traffic.

This story was originally published May 15, 2017 at 12:54 PM with the headline "Crash deaths near Cholame ‘Y’ are ‘unacceptable,’ Jordan Cunningham tells Caltrans."