It's been a long road for advocates of the Highway198 widening project. Pulling together funding to turn the road into an expressway has been a grueling two decade-long exercise in tedium.

So Thursday's groundbreaking on the project was a victory for government leaders from both Kings and Tulare counties who have fought to add two more lanes to the area's key agricultural goods movement corridor, which is also one of the most dangerous two-lane roads linking two counties in the state.

Nearly 50 local and state officials celebrated the first step toward starting work on the Hanford Expressway project, ceremonially marking the start of construction with a traditional turning of the dirt.

The $91.4 million project -- much anticipated by Hanford and Visalia residents -- will convert the 10-mile stretch of Highway 198 between Hanford and Highway 99 near Visalia from a two-lane highway to a four-lane expressway. The project is scheduled for completion in the spring 2012.

"It's a definitely needed project, and it's been a long time coming," said Brian Everson, acting director of Caltrans District 6, which serves the region spanning between Madera and Kern counties. "The project is going to increase capacity, thereby reducing congestion along the route. It's going to enhance safety. It's going to improve goods movement between the Hanford-Lemoore area and Visalia."

The ceremony held at the former Delta View Elementary School site, located along Highway 198 near the county border, was attended by an eclectic group of about 100 people, including a number of elected officials.

Assemblyman Danny Gilmore, R-Hanford, praised the project. The speech by the former Highway Patrol commander in Hanford took on a bittersweet tone as he recalled his former colleague who was killed in the line of duty along the highway as well as a horrific 40-car pileup that once occurred on the highway.

"This is probably one of the brightest days of my time as a state legislator to see us coming together with local government (leaders)," Gilmore said. "This is going to save lives in this community ... This makes me so proud that I know that the tax dollars are going to be spent well."

The Kings County Association of Governments, Tulare County Association of Governments as well as Caltrans pieced together $91.4 million that will widen the route from Highway 43 to Highway 99. The money came from a variety of sources -- both state and federal governments. But the largest sum of money -- $44.5 million -- that brought the project to the finishing line came from Proposition 1B statewide bond funds, according to Caltrans.

Thursday's ceremony symbolically ends the long wait for local transportation planners who have been trying to finance the project since the mid 1980s.

Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, was still an assemblyman when Kings County regional transportation planners began a campaign to improve Highway 198. Costa secured the first funding to start it off. Through the years, the two associations of governments gathered more from different funding sources.

"It was just a long-term commitment of local officials, state officials and federal officials that has made it happen," said Terri King, executive director of the Kings County Association of Governments. "It's taken a lot of people and commitment from both counties to keep this as a top priority."

Kings County Supervisor Richard Fagundes gave credit to his predecessor, Alene Taylor, who was one of the first people who went before the California Transportation Commission in San Francisco to ask for money.

"She's out now, but she's helped pave the road for this project," Fagundes said.

The project would be a boon to the economy of Hanford as well as the quality of life for its residents, especially younger people who attend College of the Sequoias in Visalia, said Hanford City Manager Gary Misenhimer.

"A lot of (businesses) that we invite to come to the Industrial Park are always looking for transportation opportunities -- how they get to and from their sites. And opening this up to a four-lane expressway is going to make it easier to travel between 99 and I-5. It's absolutely going to be a plus for us to attract industry into our area," Misenhimer said.

Safety for commuters is equally important for the welfare of the community, he said.

"All of our kids who go to COS know the danger of it. This is going to be a great thing for our young people who go to college or go to Visalia for other reasons," Misenhimer said. "It's certainly going to be another plus for our community."

The reporter can be reached at 583-2429.

(Nov. 20, 2009)