CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SACRAMENTO : Caltrans May Close Roads, Chief Warns

Caltrans Director Robert Best has threatened to simply close the highways on which construction workers are exposed to traffic. Best and California Highway Patrol Commissioner Maury Hannigan made a joint plea to drive safely and soberly through highway work zones and “end the slaughter of California highway workers.” In less than two months, five Caltrans workers have been killed, including two early this month along Interstate 5 in Stockton who were struck by a suspected drunk driver. The toll attributed to errant motorists is 25 since 1972. Best issued a statement saying: “If we can’t stop the carnage, then we may have to curtail or eliminate night construction work, or close roads while work is being done. We will do whatever it takes to get this necessary work done without sacrificing the safety of our road workers.”