Truck traffic is already making it hard to breath in some Fresno neighborhoods.
But neighbors say a state project could make it worse.
A plan by Caltrans would expand key interchanges near Highway 99, bringing thousands more trucks into communities already ranked among the most polluted in the state.
Caltrans plans to expand the road from two lanes to four to possibly even six for more truck traffic on the North Avenue and American Avenue interchanges.
However neighbors are not on board. A lawsuit filed by them claims with an area plagued with bad air pollution this project will make it worse.
Calwa and Malaga, industrial areas of Fresno County already struggle with some of the worst air quality in California.
According to California’s office of Health hazard Assessment, Calwa ranks among the most polluted areas in the state.
“I mean, the place was free, healthy for the children, even for us,” said Delia Hernandez moved to Calwa about 30 years ago.
“But then, over time, they started bringing all the companies, heavy trucks, everything here, and then there’s the noise, the children aren’t safe anymore, because the heavy trucks come out suddenly,” said Hernandez.
She says around the time more warehouses moved in, she was diagnosed with cancer.
“16 years ago, that’s when I first got cancer, and they said it was because of the chemicals, because I worked at foster farms, and they say it’s because of the chemicals, the smell, all the pollution, that’s what causes it,” said Hernandez.
Now neighbors fear its about to get worse with Caltrans expansion plans.
“It’s anticipated that there’s about 6,000 daily truck daily heavy truck trips that will go through the neighborhood butt tooo so not only looking at thinking about pollution, but what that does to the streets, right? Safety concerns for the children because this this is a neighborhood,” said Sandra Caledon, President and CEO of Fresno Building Healthy Communities.
For years neighbors urged Caltrans to improve street safety by adding sidewalks and bike lanes, not wider roads.
But those requests fell on deaf ears.
“No one has ever brought up freeway expansions as a priority and so that’s been part of the concern is that Caltrans completely ignored all of the feedback that they received through their own process,” said Celedon.
Not only do neighbors feel ignored, they say Caltrans has no legal ground to expand like this.
They claim critical information including planned industrial development was left out of the environmental review.
That’s why the community filed a lawsuit, hoping to stop the expansion before the trucks and pollution multiply.
“This case really is about who gets investments and who gets protected and who gets heard,” said Caledon.
The next hearing for the lawsuit is on January ninth at 1:30pm.
According to Caltrans, it is unable to provide a statement at this time due to the ongoing litigation related to the project.