A semi-truck is seen the rearview mirror while driving down Highway 12. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)

Politics crucial part of fixing deadly highway

You don't fix a highway with just asphalt and concrete. Politics plays a crucial role. That's a problem for Highway 12.

Leadership across the highway corridor is fractured among numerous political districts, counties, cities and sparsely populated Delta towns. Competition for state highway funding is fierce, and larger metro areas dominate that race.

That's not to mention the environmental minefield politicians must traverse to build anything new across the estuary. The region is home to numerous endangered fish and birds, and a source for much of the state's fresh water.

Right now, there is no long-range plan to widen or rebuild Highway 12 from Lodi to Fairfield. The busy two-lane road — which connects a growing Central Valley region with the Bay Area — is essentially stuck in a 'no man's land.' That may be its biggest problem.

"There isn't a single person that's going to say: '(Highway) 12's mine,'" said Robert Benedetti, a longtime political science professor at the University of the Pacific in Stockton.

Politics plays a huge role in fixing highways. Pressure from the public and local leaders starts the process, which can take decades and hundreds of millions of dollars to accomplish. (Marc Lutz/News-Sentinel)

Finding a way

Still, there are ways to push Highway 12 to the forefront. Political observers, transportation experts and state and local politicians say a strong and coordinated effort can bring the fix the highway needs. The leadership, many say, must come from the very top of California's government.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has already shown a commitment to funding road and levee improvements across the state. His multi-billion dollar bond package was approved by voters last fall. Even with that money, however, the Delta stretch of Highway 12 won't see a major fix anytime soon. There's no funds available, for example, to widen to four lanes any part of the 47 miles of highway between Lodi and Fairfield.

The governor realizes more needs to be done statewide to improve highways, said Sabrina Lockhart, his chief deputy press secretary. For now, however, he feels Caltrans' plans for Highway 12 are adequate. Those include a $20 million intersection improvement project near Tower Park Marina, and several shoulder-widening projects in Solano County.

"They're really the highway safety experts," Lockhart said of Caltrans."The governor is in full support of what they're doing."

It may take a future governor, like the well-positioned Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, to complete what Schwarzenegger started, Benedetti said. Garamendi lives just north of Highway 12 in Walnut Grove, and operates a cattle ranch up the highway's eastern end, in Calaveras County.

"(Garamendi) is a friend of the valley," Benedetti noted.

Garamendi could not be reached for comment.

Regional unity

Along with help from the top, regional leaders must make Highway 12 a top funding priority, observers say. Only after it's at the top of regional lists can the highway secure the state money it needs.

Mayors, county supervisors, state legislators and transportation leaders from across the corridor must unite.

"I think we all have to get in a room and see who we are," said State Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Davis.

Larry Zarian, a longtime Southern California transportation leader, said small communities have no choice but to work together to lobby for their highways. Zarian is a member of the California Transportation Commission, the nine-member panel that ultimately decides whether to approve funding for highway projects.

"You can't fight the battle yourself," said Zarian, a former chair of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority."You get a lot more done by joining in."

Grassroots groups and the media can play an important role, too. They can keep attention fixed on the problem. That very attention helped get a concrete barrier built on Highway 37, notes Jim Poulos of Tiburon. After his son was killed in a rollover accident on that road, Poulos contacted newspapers and television stations throughout the Bay Area to shine a light on the deadly Vallejo roadway.

"The outcry is what changes the game," Poulos said.

With its influence and money, private industry can also be a partner in making a highway safer. Local chambers of commerce, for example, can speak out for roadway improvements. Corporations might want wider, safer roads to improve the flow of commerce. Or, they might just be in need of"some good PR," noted Dari Sylvester, an assistant professor of political science at Pacific.

"It's just a matter of showing them how it can improve their own bottom line," she said.

Making the highway a private toll road should at least be explored, said the head of San Joaquin County's transportation authority. Caltrans recently agreed to a toll road program in Orange County to relieve traffic gridlock. A 10-mile stretch of express lanes on Route 91 — connecting Orange to Riverside and San Bernardino counties — is now operated by the California Private Transportation Company.

"It's a model that is more and more being looked at and used," said Andy Chesley, executive director of the San Joaquin Council of Governments.

Acknowledging the need for change

Light is now shining on Highway 12. For decades, the roadway has received only cosmetic fixes while traffic has grown exponentially.

State Assemblyman Alan Nakanishi, R-Lodi, has helped coalesce forces, organizing two Lodi town hall meetings this year. Last month's meeting included Caltrans Director Will Kempton and a host of area leaders. He also pushed to double fines for speeding and reckless driving along the highway. That bill, AB112, was signed into law by Schwarzenegger last month.

The growing team effort will be critical as leaders try to find a fix for the highway. Hundreds of millions of dollars, if not more, will be required to widen the stretch from Lodi to Fairfield. It will include the replacement of three highway bridges.

Leaders acknowledge that just adding rumble strips and 'slow down' signs won't cut it anymore. They're trying to tackle the big picture.

"That process is what we're beginning to pull together," said Caltrans District 10 Director Kome Ajise."As expensive as that might seem, there's an impetus to start thinking different and gathering the resources for that."

The fate of Highway 12 rests largely on that political process.

Contact reporter Chris Nichols at chrisn@lodinews.com.

First published Oct. 29, 2007