California Department of Transportation

Headquarters - Public Affairs Office
Susan Lent
(760) 872-0603

October 1, 2008

GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY FOR U.S. 395 MANZANAR/INDEPENDENCE FOUR-LANE PROJECT

Proposition 1B Project Begins Construction

Bishop – Today, the California Department of Transportation held a groundbreaking ceremony for the $60.6 million Inyo County U.S. 395 Manzanar/Independence Four-lane Project. The project received $47 million from Proposition 1B, the 2006 voter-approved transportation bond.

“This project exemplifies the use of Proposition 1B funds for improvements on rural highways,” said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. “The addition of this four lane segment will reduce traffic congestion and improve the flow of goods to rural communities served by this major artery to the Eastern Sierra.”

Expanding U.S. 395 began in 1955 and has undergone twenty successive four-lane projects. The current project is the second to last portion of the expansion, leaving just one eleven-mile section of U.S. 395 remaining to complete the four-laning of U.S. 395 in Inyo County.

The groundbreaking ceremony took place at the Manzanar Interpretative Center. Caltrans District 9 Director Tom Hallenbeck and elected local county officials joined in the celebration. The U.S. 395 Manzanar/Independence Four-lane Project was allocated in June 2008 by the California Transportation Commission.