Shasta County supervisors are being asked to oppose Caltrans’ proposed Silver Bridge Safety Intersection Improvement Project at State Route 44 and Silver Bridge Road, according to a June 30 staff report.
The report recommends approving a letter to Caltrans that opposes the agency’s plan for a single-lane roundabout and related safety improvements at the intersection. It also asks the board to authorize the County Executive Officer, or a designee, to send future letters on the board’s behalf so long as any edits do not materially change the board’s position.
In the draft letter, the county says Caltrans is developing project initiation documents for the project and argues the agency should slow the process to see whether recent speed limit reductions along the corridor reduce crash risk enough to make the project unnecessary. The county also asks Caltrans to consider alternatives, including a restricted crossing U-turn design or adding and extending merge lanes in both directions.
The letter says waiting three to five years for additional traffic data would save money and avoid traffic disruptions. It also calls for more public involvement before any project advances.
The staff report says Caltrans’ project is based in part on crash data from April 24, 2020, through April 23, 2025, and notes the agency’s initial project documents were anticipated June 30, 2026. The county report says Caltrans identified nine collisions in that span, including one fatal crash and seven injury crashes, and said the intersection’s fatal-plus-injury collision rate is about three times the statewide average for similar facilities.
The board’s recommendation and the draft letter were included in the June 30 agenda packet. The materials reviewed for this story do not show the final board vote.
The county packet and draft letter are available through the county’s meeting records: staff report and draft letter.
