page_title: California State Route 37
section_title: "Blood Alley"
hierarchical_section_title: California State Route 37 / History / "Blood Alley"
caption_attribution_description: Westbound California State Route 37 through the wetlands of the San Pablo Bay. This stretch of road was dubbed "blood alley" for its high rate of fatal accidents before the barrier was erected.
context_page_description: State Route 37 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs 21 miles along the northern shore of San Pablo Bay. It is built from U.S. Route 101 in Novato and runs through northeastern Marin County, the southern tip of Sonoma and Solano Counties to Interstate 80 in Vallejo. It serves as a vital connection between the four counties of the North Bay Area, north of San Francisco; Sonoma Raceway and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom are accessible from Route 37. The road is commonly called Highway 37 by local residents.
  Route 37 has been proposed to be built to freeway standards since the early 1950s. However, the proposal was met with many economic and environmental obstacles, making the task all but impossible for much of the route. The route is plagued by flooding which can be exacerbated by levee breaks near Vallejo. Most of the highway crosses a marsh that is home to endangered salt marsh harvest mice. A section of highway was once known as "Blood Alley" for its high rate of fatal accidents. A concrete barrier built in the 1990s eliminated those fatal head-on collisions.
context_section_description: While the Vallejo section of SR 37 was being updated, another problem with the route would hinder its progress. The section between Sears Point and Mare Island was plagued with fatal accidents, earning its nickname of "Blood Alley". Between 1966 and 1970, 27 people lost their lives on it. In a preliminary effort to reduce the fatalities, officials established both a daylight test section, requiring all cars to keep their headlights on during the day, and passing lanes. However, these efforts were ineffective.
  In 1993, local resident Jim Poulos campaigned to have a barrier erected after the death of his 18-year-old son, Frankie, on "Blood Alley". At this time, the situation with this stretch only worsened as the death toll between 1990 and 1996 rose to thirty-one. At first, Caltrans thought the barrier would make matters worse since it would be difficult for emergency vehicles to attend to accidents; environmental issues were also cited. Caltrans was waiting for the ability to create a causeway to span the area instead. Poulos continued his campaign despite opposition, and was granted the barrier in 1995. The barrier was not built without controversy, as it also eliminated the passing lanes. However, since the barriers were built, there were no longer any crossover accidents as of 2005.
  While the median was built, a few problems needed to be resolved in order for the road to work both safely and in an environmentally friendly way. Emergency personnel needed to quickly access accidents and provide them easy transport to nearby hospitals. To alleviate this problem, Caltrans implemented electric gate technology, which would allow emergency vehicles to cut through certain parts of the median. The other problem was to both protect the plant life and the salt marsh harvest mice  residing around the highway. As a result, crews placed timbers and sheeting to protect foliage, and added holes into the median barrier to allow the mice to cross the highway.
caption: This section of SR 37 was once known as "Blood Alley" for its rate of fatal accidents
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