From TUC Radio’s Going Home series A freeway bypass is being built around the small Northern California town of Willits. Even network TV is recognizing that it will destroy precious wetlands and is grossly expensive and overbuilt with a capacity for 5,000 vehicles per hour while top traffic around Willits is only 8,000 a day. The breaking news around which this story is built is the discovery that the California Department of Transportation, Caltrans, lied in their permit application to inflate the need for four instead of two lanes.
An effort is currently under way to halt construction and bring back a two lane design for the Northern Interchange, where the bypass meets up with the old two lane highway 101. In contrast to what Caltrans is already attempting to build and de-water, a two lane interchange would only destroy 25% of the wetlands.
This story plays itself out all across the US and derives some of its importance by considerations of climate change, CO2 emissions and the goal to reduce instead of facilitate traffic.
The program opens with quotes from ABC News and presents the voices of environmentalists, ranch owners, and a Willits engineer and a city planner.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:00 — 19.9MB)
