I attended the meeting about the proposed upgrade of Highway 29 at Konocti Harbor Inn along with many neighbors and two members of the Board of Supervisors. Caltrans put on an excellent presentation with maps and Caltrans staff discussed the project.
The proposed expressway seems to be an excellent improvement. I have one concern. This phase of the project will end just beyond Highway 175 that goes to Cobb/Middletown. The new expressway traffic will then be forced into the very dangerous two-lane highway that continues to Kelseyville.
There have been many serious accidents on this stretch of road. One involved a large truck and trailer going off the hill into a pond. Recently a Kelseyville ambulance was hit head-on resulting in a fatality. For some reason people make incredibly stupid passes on this section of highway and they cannot get back into their lane in time. I have seen many close calls.
Many years in the future Caltrans plans to extend the expressway to Kelseyville and beyond. This needs to be done at the same time this phase of the planned expressway is built.
If the 65-mile-per-hour traffic from the new expressway jams into this dangerous two-lane section of highway the result will be a bloodbath. The solution is to extend the currently planned expressway to Kelseyville.
As I was driving in to submit this letter traffic was being routed around another accident on this same section of road.
William Hillman
Kelseyville
