Smoother travel is expected in Fresno along the 180 highway. Local leaders and project managers celebrated the completion of the SR 180 Braided Ramps Project with a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday.
The project took about two years to complete and made changes to Hwy 180 at its connections with the 41 and 168.
Switching lanes on the 180 at the 168 and 41 interchange used to be downright dangerous.
Hwy 180 is a busy corridor, with an average of 150,000 vehicles travelling through it daily.
Previously, vehicles trying to connect to the interchanges were met with weaving traffic.
"So this project is alleviating all that. We built new structures to separate those movements so that people are no longer fighting with each other as far as trying to get in the same lane at the same time," says Neil Bretz, the project manager with Caltrans.
Project managers say the busy route and its interchanges are now a lot safer.
Although dry weather helped move the project along smoothly, R&L Brosamer construction manager Pat Hinterberger says they had their share of challenges.
"We weren't able to just shut down the interchange and close it down, build our ramps, and then open them. We worked around live traffic," Hinterberger says.
Among the changes, two new braided connectors, new guardrails and a new on-ramp at Cedar Avenue.
The $53 million project was funded through the voter-approved Measure C and funding from the State Highway Operation and Protection Program. The project was originally budgeted at $49 million but added $4 million to pay for meters, according to Gloria Rodriguez, public information officer with Caltrans District 6.
Measure C was approved in 1986 by Fresno County voters. It was a half-cent sales tax aimed at improving Fresno County's transportation system.
Congressman Jim Costa (D-Fresno) says improvements to infrastructure are an investment for the future of the Fresno area.
"When you're looking at companies wanting to locate in the Valley, they want to have a well-connected transportation system that involves auto, rail, and air transportation systems," Costa says.
Expansion of Hwy180 continues. Construction eastbound to Centerville will be complete by early next spring. In about a year, work will begin to expand the 180 beyond Minkler, and that will take about three years, Bretz says.