ACCIDENTS DIP ON 126, CHP SAYS.

Byline: Jesse Hiestand Daily News Staff Writer

Stepped-up patrols and precautions taken by Caltrans crews over the past three months have cut in half the number of crashes along Highway 126 - the notorious roadway known as ``Blood Alley,'' officials said Tuesday.

Capt. Dave Kissinger, the California Highway Patrol commander in Ventura County, said he expects the trend to continue, especially after officials kick off a campaign today enlisting more public support.

Eye-catching posters and fliers encouraging people to ``Stay alive on this beautiful drive'' will be distributed today at a news conference in Fillmore sponsored by the Highway 126 Safety Corridor Task Force.

``It will mark the public-awareness portion of the campaign,'' said CHP Officer Dave Cockrill.

The publicity is designed to alert motorists to the dangerous stretch of highway, where 49 people were killed and 825 injured in the past five years.

The task force was formed in January, after 11 people died in less than six weeks along an 11-mile stretch between Fillmore and the Los Angeles County line.

Some of the fatal crashes were blamed on Caltrans construction, an $11.4 million, 18-month project to widen a 5.4-mile section of the road near Fillmore.

Construction is scheduled to begin June 1 on a similar project to widen 5.3 miles from the Los Angeles County line to Interstate 5.

The winding, scenic country road doubles as a commuter thoroughfare, used by an estimated 22,000 vehicles per day, according to Caltrans officials. Highway 126 is the most direct route between the Santa Clarita Valley and Fillmore, Piru, Santa Paula and Ventura. Much of the traffic tends to be big-rig trucks hauling loads from Ventura County citrus groves, or between the Golden State Freeway and U.S. Highway 101.

In a bid to make the highway safer, local CHP officials got a $280,000 federal grant that has allowed more patrols to hit the highway.

Kissinger said there have been 2,500 traffic stops resulting in citations or verbal warnings since February.

Caltrans crews have made safety improvements in their construction zones and reduced the speed limit to 45 mph in those areas. The speed limit in Fillmore has been lowered to 40 mph.