Apple Hill Traffic Impacted By New Project Aimed To Make Highway 50 Safer

SACRAMENTO (CBS) — When the weather changes from summer to fall, peak season in Apple Hill is underway.

From Mid-August to December, visitors come to farms at Apple Hill for apple picking, local vendors, food and activities. Now, they do it without a left turn.

The explanation: The Camino Highway Safety Project. As the name suggests, it's in the works to make U.S. Highway 50 safer.

"The key thing for the county and Apple Hill folks was to make sure that the weekend traffic was open, number one," said Steve Nelson, Caltrans public information officer.

The bulk of the project is to replace medians and fill in gaps on the highway where there wasn't a median before.

The new bridge and under crossing will allow access to the north and south of Highway 50.

"We're taking away all left turns, all left-turn access at intersections," said Nelson.

One business, next to one of the construction epicenters, sees the orange cones every day.

"The left turn lane shut down last Thursday on a day when we had big events going on here, and we noticed a big change in traffic flow because of that," said Mike Owen at Crystal Basin Cellars.

"Is it painful? Yeah, it's painful because it's going to be a mess for two years," said Owen.

The bridge work is expected to be complete by Thanksgiving, according to Nelson. The underpass and median work is expected to be done in 2022.