Before the improvements to Highway 92 were completed, Caltrans estimated that drivers were 37 percent more likely to have an accident on the narrow, winding two-lane road than on similar stretches of highway. The project to widen and improve 1.8 miles of the highway between Highway 35 to Pilarcitos Creek was completed in fall 2000.
The improvements included a continuous uphill climbing lane for slow moving traffic, retaining walls on the hillside and the creek side of the highway and an extensive drainage system. The uphill side of the retaining wall was designed to blend in with the surroundings. A concrete median barrier was added to prevent head-on collisions. And, as wetland mitigation for the project, an abandoned landfill in Half Moon Bay was cleaned up.
The total cost of the construction was $18.5 million, with $8.1 million coming from Measure A dollars and the balance from the state of California.