A bill to create the equivalent of the German Autobahn in California has been proposed by a state senator.
Sen. John M. W. Moorlach has introduced Senate Bill 319, which would provide additional dedicated lanes without speed limits northbound and southbound on Interstate Route 5 (I-5) and State Route 99 (SR 99).
Moorlach is proposing the lanes in place of the “defunct High-Speed Rail project – or at least providing an expedited transportation option until a substantial High-Speed Rail segment can be built decades in the future”. He says dedicated lanes would let Californians “speedily and safely traverse the Northern and Southern parts of the state” and “like the German Autobahn, the new lanes would be designed for both high-speed and safety.”
In his proposal, Moorlach references a study by the World Health Organization that estimates the rate of road traffic deaths at 4.1 per 100,000 people in Germany and 12.4 per 100,000 people in the US.
“If Sacramento is serious about allowing Californians to travel between Los Angeles and the Bay Area, and High-Speed Rail will take too long to build, let’s construct four additional lanes with no maximum speed limit to provide for high speed on a safe road,” he said.
California’s population currently stands at 40 million and Moorlach says this is predicted to reach as much as 60 million by 2050, adding that it “needs a state-of-the-art highway system to meet the needs of the future.”
