Via Este finally getting turn lane

 A dangerous Highway 108 intersection — scene of a fatal crash last month — could get a little safer come spring.

Caltrans officials this week confirmed the department plans to put a left-hand turn lane on westbound 108 at Via Este.
 

Caltrans spokeswoman Lisa Balcom said the project will start this spring, with completion eyed for fall 2010.

The work will involve widening the highway in the area, adding a left-turn lane and installing a street light.

The need for a turn lane there was established in the late 1990s following a traffic investigation, Balcom said.

The study looked at accident rates, over a five-year period, at comparable intersections throughout the state. It found Highway 108-Via Este had triple the number of accidents, on average.

 Nine accidents involving left-hand turns were logged over the years studied, Balcom said.

Since that study, the area has been the scene of numerous near-misses, collisions and a recent fatal crash.

On Sept. 29, Emmett Broaddus, 22, of Soulsbyville, driving west, died when he swerved to avoid a vehicle making a left turn, lost control of his Acura, collided with a Toyota and drove over an embankment.

Kevin Schmidt, of Grace Baptist Church, knew Broaddus well and is also very familiar with the perilous intersection.

“There have been times when we’ve been in the church office when I’ve heard screeching tires and metal on metal,” he said.

The church is on Grace Way, near the intersection taken by his parishioners en route to church.

Schmidt called Caltrans officials Wednesday and learned about the planned lane fix.

“We’ve had a number of accidents there over the years and we’ve talked to Caltrans and we’re finally going to get it,” he said.

The turn-lane project is expected to cost $1.48 million, Balcom said.

It is not part of the Highway 108 bypass project, the second phase of which is expected to be build between Peaceful Oak Road and Via Este starting in the spring of 2010.