A major project to fix one of the Central Coast’s deadliest roadways is now complete.
Crews recently wrapped up construction on a flyover interchange at the so-called Cholame “Y,” where Highways 41 and 46 meet in northern San Luis Obispo County, theCalifornia Department of Transportation announced during a ribbon cutting event on Wednesday, June 11.
The area has been dubbed “Blood Alley” due a slew of fatal traffic collisions at the site over several decades,including the death of Hollywood legend James Dean nearly 70 years ago.
A total of 11 people died in crashes at or near the Y-shaped intersection from 2014 through 2024, resulting in a traffic fatality rate higher than the statewide average, according to previous Tribune reporting.
The long-awaited overpass — one segment of Caltrans’ Corridor Improvement Project— wasbuilt to “minimize fatal accidents, improve safety and reduce existing and future peak-hour congestion,” the state road agency said on its website.
The elevated interchange at the Cholame “Y” will carry drivers over Highway 46 and merge them onto Highway 41 toward Fresno.
It will be open to travelers starting on Thursday, June 12, according to the state road agency.
In total, the nearly 20-year project cost $148 million to complete, Caltrans said.
California intersection was site of James Dean’s fatal crash
For decades, drivers traveling through the Y-shaped intersection, where the two highways meet, had to make a harrowing merge that often led to unsafe passing maneuvers and head-on collisions.
From 2014 to 2024, 24 collisions occurred at the intersection of Highway 41 and Highway 46, Caltrans told The Tribune in November.
“Much of the devastation on this highway has stemmed from drivers attempting risky passes around slow moving trucks, or inattentive motorists drifting into oncoming traffic — preventable mistakes that have led to devastating consequences,” said California Highway Patrol Lt. Cmdr. Darren Genusso, who works in the agency’s Templeton office.
Blood Alley is perhaps best known as the site where actor James Dean died in a head-on crash on Sept. 30, 1955.
Dean’s Porsche Spyder collided with a two-door Ford driven by Donald Turnupseed. The Cal Poly student was turning from Highway 46 onto Highway 41.
As the new interchange was unveiled to local leaders on Wednesday, it was a bittersweet moment for many, including Genusso, who remembered friends and loved ones who had died at the dangerous stretch of highway.
Others wished the interchange could have been completed sooner.
State road experts first analyzed the “Y” interchange nearly 20 years ago in a 2006 environmental impact project report, according to Caltrans.
“It’s a great day today that we’re going to end the accidents and the deaths and the injury accidents. It’s been a very, very long time coming,” said Ahron Hakimi, the executive director of Kern Council of Government. “It’s great to get here, but it shouldn’t take two generations to fix a known problem like we’ve known about since James Dean … It’s completely unacceptable to take this long to fix a problem that we know how to fix.”
Completion of Highway 46 interchange is ‘major milestone’
In April 2023, Caltrans broke ground on the multi-million project to create a flyover interchange to replace the Cholame “Y” crossing configuration.
During construction, crews had to build multiple structures, as well incorporate drainage, grade separation and animal crossing components, according to Scott Eades, Caltrans District 5 director.
A little more than two years later, the interchange features transition ramps to westbound and eastbound drivers on Highway 46 that enhance traffic flow and improve safety for “travelers navigating this major regional intersection,” Caltrans said in a Wednesday news release.
Cars and trucks will start to flow over the interchange for the first time on Thursday, June 12, Caltrans public information officer Jim Shivers told The Tribune, finally eliminating the need for travelers to make a left hand turn onto Highway 41 with oncoming traffic.
“This is a major milestone,” he said.
Genusso said infrastructure enhancements in the area have already made a meaningful difference in decreasing roadway fatalities in SLO County.
“Our officers patrol these roads daily, and I’ve seen how expanded lanes improve traffic flow, and redesign and a redesigned interchange have and will help reduce risk for drivers and emergency responders alike.”
When does Highway 41 construction end? Can I drive on freeway?
Once the three-day Highway 41 closure ends on Thursday, June 12, the new flyover interchange will officially open to drivers, Jim Shivers said.
The freeway interchange will be operational for both directions of travel to and from the Central Coast and the Central Valley, he said.
“We’re thrilled about being able to open this up to the public,” Shivers added.
What’s next for the interchange project? When will roadwork be complete?
Although the interchange is opening to drivers, construction in the Cholame “Y” area will continue through the rest of the year, according to Caltrans.
The Highway 41-Highway 46 “Y” interchange project will be fully finished in 2026, according to Eades.
‘We’re still a ways away in all the remaining pieces, but we’re making great progress,” he said.
Starting Thursday, traffic on Highway 46 will be routed to new lanes during the next phase of construction.
Eades called on motorists to slow down in construction zones and prepare for road route changes.
Some of the upgrades still to come include construction on two lanes running beneath the flyover interchange.
For now, two westbound Highway 46 lanes under the interchange will be open, but temporarily switched to a two-way roadway — one way going east, one way going west —while two eastbound lanes remain under construction, Shivers said.
The eastbound lanes will be finished and open to the public by mid-August, he said.
Construction continues on Caltrans’ Corridor Improvement Project
The flyover interchange is one part of the larger Corridor Improvement Project to widen Highway 46 from a two-lane highway to a four-lane expressway, stretching from east of the Shandon Rest area to east of Davis Road, Caltrans said in a news release.
The final phase of the project will widen Highway 46 on the way to Kern County.
A 3.5-mile section of Highway 46 East up the Antelope Grade will be doubled from two lanes to four lanes from west of Davis Road to west of Antelope Road, Caltrans said.
Construction for that chunk of highway is expected to begin in spring 2027.
