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Millerton Road had 13 fatal crashes between 2019 and 2025, making it one of the deadliest roads in Fresno County.
In 2020, four people were killed in a crash at the Via Bellagio intersection outside a gated community about three miles west of Table Mountain Casino. Two years later, another person died in a car crash at the same location. About six minutes away, five people were killed in a 2022 crash at Millerton Road and Marina Drive.
A winding rural road in Fresno County known to some locals as “Blood Alley” was planned to be revamped to help curb fatal crashes along the 5.7-mile stretch of road, but the project has hit a snag.
Fresno County has developed a detailed safety improvement plan for Millerton Road. . The proposal calls for widening a 3.2-mile section of Millerton Road to a four-lane road and adding two roundabouts near homes.
Table Mountain Casino has stepped up efforts to widen a 0.8-mile section of Millerton Road near the casino’s entrance due to financial constraints, the county said. But Fresno County is still working to implement the rest of the plan.
Fresno County Public Works and Planning and Design Manager Mohamed Alimi said the county has the funds to build a roundabout at the intersection of Millerton Road and Esplanade, pending environmental review and right-of-way acquisition.
As for the road widening work, Alimi said the design and environmental review process for the project from Marina Drive to North Fork Road has been completed. However, the county has not yet secured funding for right-of-way acquisition, utility relocation and construction.
Alimi said the county needs another $70 million for these projects, but has repeatedly applied unsuccessfully for federal grants. The county also cannot use funds from Measure C, a 0.5-cent tax on every item Fresno County residents have paid for transportation improvements over the past 40 years.
“(We) had hoped that this project would be included in the list of regional projects funded through the new Measure C. However, the proposed spending plan limits the use of Measure C funds for capacity addition projects and limits the ability of local agencies to use their local share for road widening,” Alimi said.
Alimi said the county is continuing to pursue federal funding and is looking to reduce the scope and cost of projects to be more competitive.
A timeline for when the Millerton Road project will be completed will not be set until the county secures funding.