June 2, 1965
Everywhere you looked in the 1960′s, highways were being built. Eisenhower administration pushed to build highways in the 1950′s and that tradition continued into the ’60s. In the summer of 1965 the Cayucos bypass was half finished.
The project included three bridges and a huge earth moving operation. Resident engineer John Robertson said that 90,000 cubic yards of dirt and rock had to be moved after April rains caused slides in the construction area.
One of the quirks of the California highway system is that money seemed to be easier to get for north-south roads than east-west roads. Highway 46 is still two lanes for most of the Paso Robles to I-5 corridor though construction has begun to widen it.
Compare prices, today 5 miles of highway between Airport and Geneseo roads costs 35 million dollars to build. The Highway 46 project was more than 10 years in the planning process. Budgeting started in 1997.
In the mid-1960′s 2.6 million dollars built the Cayucos bypass over much more difficult ground.
Related posts:
I noticed that the paper stated that you are
“looking North toward Cayucos” in the photo on the left. Obviously wrong, you are looking South away from Cayucos
Hi Joe,
Yea, I think you are correct. If the ocean is on the right you are looking south.