The new signs erected on a stretch of Hwy 46 at the Hwy 41 interchange are dedicated to the late actor James Dean who died in a crash there in 1955. Submitted photo
He was the most famous victim and his death the most infamous accident ever on Hwy 46, and now 71-years after his tragic death, Caltrans is honoring Hollywood legend, James Dean, and renaming a segment of the highway where he died in his honor.
It’s also taking the opportunity to use the tragedy to promote highway safety and possibly prevent more death on a stretch of highway that picked up the moniker, Blood Alley.
“On the 71st Anniversary of James Dean’s fatal crash,” reads a news release from Caltrans Dist. 5, “ local transportation leaders, elected officials, and James Dean Family representatives will announce a resolution designating a portion of the new Highway 46 alignment in San Luis Obispo County as the James Dean Memorial Highway.
“The resolution, sponsored by State Assembly Member Dawn Addis (D — 30th District), honors the legacy of American actor James Dean, who tragically lost his life in a car accident on this stretch of roadway in 1955.”
The dedication was made official at a Sept. 30 ceremony held at the James Dean Memorial near the Jack Ranch Café in Cholame.
“In addition to commemorating Dean’s cultural impact,” Caltrans said, “the announcement also highlights the importance of roadway safety along this corridor.
“Over the decades, numerous motorists have lost their lives near the Highway 46/41 interchange. The designation serves not only as a tribute, but also as a reminder of the ongoing need for vigilance, continued safety improvements, and community awareness to help prevent future tragedies.”
The Hwy 46/41 “Y” had over the years seen countless tragic crashes, as cars and trucks turning onto Hwy 41 towards Fresno had to cross traffic coming down the Polonio Pass at highway speeds. But that’s changed now.
Caltrans just last year completed a new interchange and eliminated the “Y” with a proper, modern, interchange and removed the dangerous cross-traffic turn.
Also, closer to Paso Robles, Caltrans has for many years been widening the roadway, adding new lanes of traffic in each direction and turning what was once a 2-lane rural highway into a 4-lane road with a wide center divider.
That work continues, but the danger on Hwy 46 continues at several spots including a major rest stop with a cross-traffic turn just a few miles out of Paso Robles.
On Sept. 30, 1955, Dean had just wrapped filming the classic movie, Giant, co-starring Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson, and was driving his Porsche Speedster (Spyder) race car, nicknamed “Little Bastard,” from Southern California to Salinas, CA, where he planned to drive in a sports car race at Laguna Sega Raceway.
At the Hwy 46/41 “Y” intersection, he collided nearly head-on with a 1950 Ford Tudor driven by 23-year-old Navy veteran and Cal Poly student Donald Turnupseed, who was heading home to Tulare at the time.
The Porsche reportedly cartwheeled several times and came to rest in a ditch, a mangled wreck.
Dean was critically injured and had to be extricated from the wreck, suffering massive injuries including a broken back, a crushed foot, and internal and external injuries.
A passenger, Porsche mechanic, Rolf Wütherich, was thrown clear of the sports car and landed a short distance away and was also seriously injured.
Both were taken to a Paso Robles hospital and Dean died en route. Wütherich suffered a broken jaw, hip and broken femur bone that required several surgeries, but he survived the crash.
A monument was erected in 1977 to James Dean and sits outside the Jack Ranch Café. In 2005, the “Y” intersection was renamed the James Dean Memorial Junction. With that now gone, Caltrans is renaming the new interchange in Dean’s honor.
It should be noted that Hwys 46 and 41 continue to be heavily used by visitors from both the Fresno and Bakersfield areas heading to San Luis Obispo County for vacations.
On holiday weekends, both highways can be extremely heavy with traffic. Both routes also continue to pile up crashes and deaths.
Caltrans continues to make extensive safety improvements on both roads including expanding the 2-lane segments to 4-lanes with medians. Both roads are among the main, east-west routes for the Central Valley residents to visit the Coast.
