FALLBROOK (KGTV)--North County motorists will enjoy a safer highway following the opening of the State Route 76 East Project, Caltrans said Tuesday.
"Today marks the completion of another one of SANDAG's high-priority transportation projects, a promise made through its TransNet Early Action Program," said SANDAG chair Ron Roberts.
The $202 million project transformed a five mile stretch of SR-76 to Old Highway 395 into a four-lane highway to better meet increasing travel needs. It also widened the 76 / Interstate 15 interchange and added two loop on-ramps to I-15.
The highway now has a center divider, improved sight distances, updated bridges over the San Luis Rey River and standard width shoulders in each direction to accommodate bicycles, pedestrians and emergency parking -- all efforts to reduce accidents and relieve traffic congestion.
"We straightened out a lot of curves because before people didn't have good sight distance coming out of the curves," said Caltrans District 11 director Laurie Berman.
Funding for the project came from a mix of TransNet half-cent sales tax, county of San Diego Transportation Impact Fee, developer fees, federal funds and Native American tribal contributions.
SANDAG offered the following video update on the SR-76 East Project in March.
For more help making your commute safe and short, be sure to use our 10News traffic map.
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Sandy Coronilla is a KGTV digital producer. Follow her @10NewsSandy
