by Normally, I would think that any expansion for a highway would be a good thing. At first, I was thinking more lanes. But nope. The Cal Trans project for expansion—South Fresno State Route 99 Corridor—is related to converting the partial interchanges on North and American Ave into full interchanges. First things first, what are both of these? A full interchange gives vehicles 4 major movements between a freeway and a cross street: Freeway to Local Road, and Local Road to Freeway, in both directions. This lets traffic enter and exit the freeway from every direction, which means more traffic, potential connectivity to industrial or commercial zones, and more trucks. All of this of course means more noise and pollution. The way it is right now, as a partial interchange, inherently protects the communities.
On a partial interchange, there is much less movement. For example you may be able to exit a freeway but not enter (from the same area), you may go northbound but not southbound, or only one side of the cross street has ramps. This is usually done when space is limited, traffic demand is low, or most importantly, to restrict movements, which can protect neighborhoods. Fresno communities, especially Calwa (of whom this will impact the most), have already and are still impacted by environmental issues, so yeah, this project would worsen conditions for a community that is already not doing so well. That is why the project is facing a lawsuit—which may even stop the project if a court rules against Cal Trans.
