Highway 198 and Lovers Lane rehabilitation project underway in Visalia

VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- Lovers Lane successful Visalia is getting a facelift with Caltrans' rehabilitation task from the Highway 198 intersection to Houston Avenue and down to McAuliff Street.

Locals accidental the improvements are invited arsenic the heavy traveled roadworthy has been successful request of immoderate care.

Jabed Khan lives successful the area, helium shared a bicycle camera video with Action News of his play rides with Southern Sierra Cyclists.

"This is decidedly going to beryllium precise adjuvant for us, particularly erstwhile we thrust bikes. each clip we spell to that intersection, determination are truthful galore potholes, I americium much disquieted astir dodging potholes than redeeming myself from the cars," expresses Jabed.

Caltrans is moving alongside the Tulare County Association of Governments and the City of Visalia to implicit the $44M project.

The extremity goes beyond beautifying Visalia; it's making roads safer for drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians.

"This is simply a precise important task for the area. We person been moving connected his task for immoderate clip now. One of the unsocial items for this task is that we person a mates of antithetic types of funding," says Kurt Hatton, with the Caltrans District 6 Project Management team.

A groundbreaking lawsuit Thursday astatine Mill Creek Park celebrated the project, which started past fall.

If you question the engaged road, you volition already announcement a 1 lane closure for southbound postulation connected Lovers Lane done Noble Avenue.

That volition beryllium the lawsuit for the adjacent 5 months..

After that, Caltrans volition absorption its enactment connected the Northbound lanes and yet alteration to the 198 intersection.

"So Mineral King won't person entree to lovers lane straight from the eastbound broadside anymore but that is to accommodate that westbound off-ramp, due to the fact that determination is simply a sizable magnitude of congestion during the day, and we are trying to debar having postulation that backs retired connected to 198," explains Christian Lukens, with Caltrans District 6 nationalist information.

Despite the impermanent disruption, Caltrans says the redesign was necessary.

The California Highway Patrol agrees that improvements are needed, arsenic it's 1 of the busiest off-ramps successful the area, particularly during commute hours.

"Traffic backing up connected the freeway is ever a atrocious thing. We person postulation that flows astatine 65 miles. So, present vehicles coming up to this postulation volition person to either slam connected their brakes oregon swerve to debar causing a postulation collision," mentions Officer Adrian Gonzalez with Visalia CHP.

It volition beryllium astatine slightest a mates of years earlier the afloat task is complete. In the meantime, drivers are urged to dilatory down erstwhile they spot operation zones.

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