CHP DRAWS PLANS FOR MAKING HIGHWAY 118 LESS DANGEROUS.

Byline: Paul O'Donoghue Daily News Staff Writer

State transportation and Highway Patrol officials have identified sections of Highway 118 with high rates of crashes, and the CHP could concentrate patrols in those areas, according to officials expected to presenting findings today at a highway task force meeting.

In addition, the CHP officials are expected to make recommendations that include clearing brush to improve visibility and ways to make it safe to pull over speedsters on a roadway lacking shoulders, said Keith Jajko, a spokesman for Ventura County Supervisor Judy Mikels, who co-chairs the task force.

The narrow, 16-mile stretch of two-lane highway between Moorpark and Saticoy has been the scene of 876 crashes, including 20 fatalities, between 1990 and 1997. About 4,500 big-rig trucks, as well as thousands of cars, daily use the highway that connects the county's east and west.

Proposals to widen the highway have been opposed by many area residents who fear it will only attract even more traffic and spoil the area's rural character.

Today's meeting will be the fourth for the task force, made up of local and state officials, area residents, and business representatives. The group was set up as part of an $89,000 federal grant administered by the CHP to improve safety on the road.

The grant has allowed the CHP to double the number of officers, from one to two, patrolling the stretch of highway, said CHP Capt. Richard Owen.

Owen said his agency also will present an update on efforts to make the road safer, which include plans for overtime by officers to patrol the area, and concentrated patrols in the areas with the highest crash rates.

Today's meeting will begin at at 8:30 a.m. at the Apricot Room, Moorpark City Hall, 799 Moorpark Ave.