Modoc County clashes over Caltrans’ main street proposal

In a distant corner of California, the beating red heart of Modoc County is a set of traffic signals where two major highways intersect. Located on four corners in Alturas, where Highway 395 T-bones into Highway 299, the only traffic lights in the entire county are perhaps the most symbolic stop signs in the state.

This far-removed frontier resists the temptations of change, as many in Modoc pride themselves on a dignified defiance to urban living and values. Its roughly 8,700 residents live among nearly 4,000 square miles, a perfectly square land mass that’s almost as big as Los Angeles County and that’s largely composed of an unfettered, federal forest.

“If you’re a hunter, you know where Modoc is. Or if you’re a geologist,” said Alturas native Tara Yarberry. “It’s really unique.”

Near the geographic center of the county is the highway intersection. Lately, the blinking red lights have become a flash point in a fight over modernization in Modoc. In the last several years, a Caltrans proposal to update the roadway and redesign 395, which doubles as Main Street, has sparked a fierce response – on both sides of the road.

Caltrans originally suggested a “road diet” through downtown Alturas, which would convert four lanes into two to enhance safety, add bike lanes and improve parking. Immediately after hearing the proposal in 2020, the Alturas City Council passed a resolution to block the changes. The council’s action has remained in place ever since.

“People are resistant to change,” Yareberry said. “They’ll say, ‘Oh, you can’t get rid of our stoplight.”

Meanwhile, a chorus grows among the public in support of updating Main Street, touting the safety benefits. Highway 395 is a highly trafficked freight corridor. The local high school shares a front yard with the road. Some are concerned that it’s only a matter of time before a tragedy.

Without touching Main Street’s lane count, Caltrans is nevertheless about to break ground on a project to upgrade the road. Narrower in scope than the original proposal, the road rehabilitation is the first major improvement on Main Street in decades and could pave the way for other changes in a county that’s leery of them. 

The significance of the red traffic lights is not overstated. Tacie Wheeler, the city clerk for Alturas, told SFGATE that she’s sometimes heard visitors inquire about them. When out-of-county journalists parachute in to report on Modoc, it’s inevitable – as it’s been for decades – that the red lights will make an appearance to symbolize the area’s folksy disposition.

While some in the community go to bat for the signals, Mitch Crosby, Modoc County’s road commissioner, said their original intent is not always adhered to. “Most people don’t fully stop at it,” he chuckled.

In June around dusk, the red lights waved drivers through the intersection with their continual winks. The highway crossing is located at the northern end of downtown Alturas, where a dilapidated gas station is on one side and a beloved grocer, aptly called the Four Corners Market, is on the other.

Jim Atkins was on break outside the market and sounded a little skeptical about the proposed road diet. “I don’t know if it will work with the semis coming through,” he said.

The following morning on the other end of town, Christian Greene was opening the Double-A Cafe and pouring coffee for some of the townsfolk. He saw a presentation on the modified road concept from Jim Richardson, an engineer with the county’s road department, and it left him impressed. 

“I like Jim’s POV on safety,” Greene said. “The high school is an open campus, and growing up, kids would just cross the street. I’m surprised no one has been hit yet.”

Greene added that redeveloping Main Street could help revitalize some parts of Altura’s sluggish downtown, where vacant buildings and shuttered businesses mix with the white-picket-fenced homes and the historic Niles hotel. “We don’t want to see our community die – so what can we do?” he said. “This could help if you want people out and about in the community.”

Last spring, the dispute came to a head at a City Council meeting that apparently packed the chambers. Richardson, after collaborating with a consultant and nonprofit, conducted public outreach around Alturas to develop a transportation plan that calls for modifying the road. “Jim is hearing everywhere how dangerous Main Street is,” Crosby said.

The City Council, led by Mayor Pro-tem Jennifer Engel, reaffirmed its opposition.

“I’m sitting in the City Council listening to what’s being shared, but it got usurped. A council member said, ‘Absolutely not. We have an ordinance. How will snow plows get through?'” Yarberry said. “They’re cutting off their nose to spite their face.”

Yarberry, who works locally as a board certified behavior analyst, speculated that some of the local pushback against Caltrans boils down to mistrust. It’s easy to understand why some in the county are suspicious of the state nowadays. Modoc County voters were effectively marginalized after Proposition 50 redrew their congressional district, couching them with the liberal and more populated Marin County. 

“It’s the state coming in and telling us how we should do our main street. The feeling is that the state doesn’t have our back,” Yarberry said. “When Caltrans says let’s do this thing, there is a worry that when a state does something, the maintenance and cost falls on a small city. That burden has been felt, and it’s still remembered.”

Caltrans is quick to clarify that it’s responsive to public feedback. Mazen Zaina, the senior transportation engineer for the road project in Alturas, explained that Caltrans did not move ahead with the initially proposed road diet after several meeting with local partners.

“The city of Alturas passed a resolution against road diet proposal,” he said. “We got that feedback.”

Caltrans recognizes the need to rehabilitate the pavement on Main Street. The last repavement was in 2008, and Zaina said this project will bring over 33 miles along Highway 395 from fair to good condition.

The project is scheduled to begin in 2027 and run through 2028. Caltrans, via local media, plans to keep the public in Alturas informed of scheduled lane closures after the project is awarded.

While the road will eventually smooth out some of the tension, the project does not address the intersection between highways near the northern end of town, where the red light repeatedly blinks in the face of time.

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This article originally published at Modoc County clashes over Caltrans’ main street proposal.