After nearly five decades and $439 million, the new Highway 1 bypass at Devil’s Slide is set to open March 25. The bypass avoids a section of highway between Pacifica and Montara known for multiple landslides and deadly car accidents. The twin tunnels, which extend through San Pedro Mountain, will be the first new highway tunnels to open in California in nearly 50 years. They feature state-of-the-art technology with huge exhaust fans and carbon monoxide sensors. We discuss the tunnels’ construction and the environmental and political roadblocks its proponents met along the way.
Devil's Slide Tunnels Set to Open
(Chris D 2006/Flickr)
Guests:
Gary Richards, transportation reporter known as "Mr. Roadshow" for the San Jose Mercury News
Zoe Kersteen-Tucker, spokesperson for Citizens Alliance for the Tunnel Solution, a group formed in 1995 to pass Measure T, a ballot measure to fund construction of a tunnel
Skip Sowko, CalTrans engineer and project manager for the Devil's Slide bypass tunnels
Lennie Roberts, legislative activist with the Committee for Green Foothills, an environmental advocacy group
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