Concrete barriers added to Tank Farm Road work site in SLO, one week after deadly crash
New concrete barriers have been installed on the side of the ride of Tank Farm Road to protect workers from nearby traffic as part of a roadway widening project in San Luis Obispo.
But they are apparently a planned part of this phase of the construction and not a response to the fatal crash that killed a San Luis Obispo man last week.
The construction, which started in September, is part of the new Ellsworth Tract project of 35 commercial lots next to Farm Supply.
The work is happening on the same side of the road where cars approach Kennedy Club Fitness, heading toward South Higuera Street.
On Feb. 11, Micheal Hamlin, 52, died after being struck by a vehicle on the 200 block of Tank Farm Road about 10:25 p.m. that night, the San Luis Obispo Police Department said in a news release at the time.
Hamlin was found unconscious in the roadway after a vehicle driven by a 76-year-old man struck him, the release said.
“The current phase of work involves roadway widening into the subdivision’s side of the street, and the barriers are there to allow that frontage work to be completed without any conflicts between drivers on Tank Farm, construction crews and their heavy equipment,” said Luke Schwartz, the city’s interim transportation manager, in an email.
SLOPD Sgt. Robert Cudworth said that the department is still investigating the fatal crash, looking into what Hamlin was doing prior to the incident and exactly what took place.
Cudworth said he had no comment about whether the barriers — called k-rails — were related to that incident and installed to provide better safety for drivers and pedestrians.
He added that Hamlin is listed as a SLO transient, and investigators were looking into when he might have last stayed at the 40 Prado homeless shelter in SLO, and coordinating with the Community Action Team, which does homeless outreach.
“We’re looking into that, and all the different avenues with this,” Cudworth said. “Everything is open and on the table.”
Schwartz said that as workers are building that side of the roadway, a vertical drop-off from the existing edge of the pavement will be present until crews install the new asphalt pavement.
“The barriers also help prevent drivers from tracking into the work zone and catching that lip,” Schwartz said.
Schwartz said the last update he saw indicated the Tank Farm construction was expected to last six to eight more weeks, depending on weather.
This story was originally published February 19, 2020 at 2:44 PM.
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