New electronic message boards coming to SLO County highways. Here’s where
San Luis Obispo County drivers will soon see two new electronic signs and other traffic-monitoring improvements along local highways.
On Friday, Caltrans announced that $3 million in state funding will go toward installing electronic message boards, closed circuit television cameras and traffic loop detectors (sensors in the ground that can monitor traffic flow) on both Highway 101 and Highway 46.
On Highway 101, the new features will be installed at points beginning north of Reservoir Canyon Road at the foot of the Cuesta Grade up to the Paso Robles railroad bridge at the north end of town, Caltrans said, including a new changeable message sign facing southbound traffic just north of the San Anselmo Road southbound off-ramp in Atascadero.
The second changeable message sign will be located on Highway 46 East facing westbound traffic just east of Union Road/Paso Robles Boulevard. Cameras will also be added to the signs and the existing electronic display on Highway 46 West, so that operators can ensure they are displaying the correct messages.
The improvements are part of a $571 million allocation by the California Transportation Commission “to address transportation needs throughout the state,” Caltrans said in the news release.
“This technology on the state highway system will provide useful, real-time information to travelers,” Caltrans District 5 director Tim Gubbins said in a statement.
Federal and state gas taxes provided funding for the project, including more than $159 million in SB 1 dollars, the release said. The funding measure — which included a 12-cent hike in the base gasoline excise tax and increased vehicle registration fees — became law in 2017 and survived a 2018 repeal effort.
“Expanding access to safe walkways, bicycle routes and convenient transit options, in addition to maintaining our highways, advances the state’s efforts to address climate change and improve the quality of life for all Californians,” Caltrans director Toks Omishakin said.
