Willits downtown. (Photo by Kym Kemp.)

In today’s LA Times, a staff writer takes on the Willits Bypass. The focus of the article is on whether a four-lane bypass is necessary or whether a two-lane road would suffice. “Opponents have decried the environmental destruction,” the article states, “contending that a two-lane bypass would have been far less damaging and should have been considered.

Currently, Caltrans’ plan is to build two lanes but move up to four lanes when funding becomes available. According to this article, “two county supervisors and two council members have said it still may not be too late to push for a “better bypass”—meaning just keeping the bypass at two lanes.

Caltrans’ spokesman, Phil Frisbie contends, says the author, that the Federal Highway Administration “requires that such bypass projects meet Caltrans’ local ‘purpose and need’ document, which had targeted a level of service over a 20-year period that a two-lane bypass could not satisfy.”

LoCO on the bypass:

• The Battle for the Little Lake Valley: Debating the Willits Bypass, Pros and Cons (Part I of III)
• The Battle for the Little Lake Valley: Debating the Willits Bypass, Pros and Cons (Part II of III)
• The Battle for the Little Lake Valley: Debating the Willits Bypass, Pros and Cons (Part III of III)