Because the state budget would not allow Highway 46 to be widened, lower cost strategies had to be developed. The CHP got approval from the state legislature to increase the number of patrols, double the fines, and station a helicopter at the county airport to fly crash victims to hospitals. Additionally, more than a million fliers were printed and disseminated to alert drivers of the dangers on this highway. It used a combination of rumble strips, pavement reflectors, and raised thermoplastic striping placed along the shoulders and the centerline. Such devices alerted motorists when they drifted across the centerline or onto a shoulder.
Narrow bridges are very expensive to replace or widen.
These can involve improvements to the bridge structure and to potentially hazardous bridge features, such as improving bridge rails and sidewalks, eliminating potholes and poor skid resistance on the deck surface, and formulating better connections between bridge abutments and guardrails. Bridge approach improvements. The safety of bridge guardrails and roadway approaches can be improved by installing crash cushions, changing the location of guardrails, and ensuring that guardrails on the approaching roads are appropriately attached to bridge guardrails. These include improved signs, pavement markings, and delineation in the bridge approach area and on the bridge. They must be placed well in advance of the bridge to alert drivers to potentially hazardous conditions.