Drivers upset over length of construction project on Highway 99 in Merced County

MERCED COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- The California Department of Transportation is expected to adjacent respective connected and off-ramps on Highway 99 successful Merced County.

Caltrans says drivers should expect a 5 to 10-minute hold and usage alternate routes whenever possible.

The closure is for a pavement task that is expected to extremity by January 20th, but Caltrans officials accidental that could alteration depending connected postulation incidents.

Drivers successful Merced County accidental those postulation incidents hap mode excessively often.

"It's the worst road that I've experienced, and I've been astir truthful galore accidents. There's truthful galore deaths," said Victor Duran, an Atwater resident.

Duran says erstwhile he's forced to thrust connected this agelong of Highway 99, helium is usually stuck successful traffic.

"If I would person stayed connected the freeway, it would person been different 45 minutes," Duran explained.

For others, they debar the road altogether.

"I'm precise acrophobic of the freeway. There's similar truthful galore accidents. So, I effort to spell elsewhere," said Giselle Torres, a Merced resident.

Their fearfulness is valid. The agelong of 99 successful Merced County was a web for car crashes successful 2023.

On May 25th, conscionable days aft Caltrans installed a passageway lane with a K-rail barricade, this motortruck carrying liquid fertilizer overturned, which delayed drivers for respective hours.

Five days later, a large rig carrying 40,000 pounds of frozen nutrient crashed adjacent the commencement of the lane split.

Then, connected July 20th, 58-year-old Maria Guzman Aguilar was driving connected Highway 99 erstwhile a large rig's tyre and axle came off, hopped implicit the lanes and deed her truck, sidesplitting Aguilar.

Six months later, her daughter, Nentali Loaiza, fights backmost tears arsenic she explains she's inactive mislaid without her mother.

"So everybody's day came up, and holidays came up, and my ma wasn't here...I'm sorry," said Loaiza.

She urges officials to velocity up the operation process.

"They could beryllium redeeming lives. They could person avoided truthful galore accidents and truthful galore people's lives being lost," Loaiza said.

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