Summer travelers making their way through the middle of California to the Central Coast can now access a legendary stretch of highway, known as "Blood Alley," after a brief closure and detour.

The 20-mile section of Highway 41 between Paso Robles and Interstate 5 stopover Kettleman City closed earlier this month to complete a construction project, but it was reopened Thursday on schedule, Caltrans officials confirmed to SFGATE on Friday.

"The new interchange and adjoining ramps opened late yesterday afternoon," Caltrans spokesperson Jim Shivers said in an email. "It is located east of the prior intersection."

While the closure was brief, the improvements are profound. Shivers noted that "the biggest thing is the new overhead ramp that will safely transition travelers between Highway 46 and State Route 41 in all directions."

"This ramp replaces the at-grade intersection where travelers needed to make a left turn across oncoming traffic," Shivers continued. "The new interchange is just west of the prior one.

"This is a major safety enhancement."

Construction on the major improvement to the highway started at the interchange of highways 41 and 46 near Cholame and extended about 20 miles east to Reef Station, near the junction of state Route 33.

The recent work is a component of a much larger $148 million Caltrans project that is slated to eventually bring a flyover interchange and widened highways to the region.

The project also aims to improve safety and convenience. For decades, motorists have died trying to cross over oncoming highway traffic at the Cholame Y. Most famously, this spot lives forever in Hollywood lore as the place where James Dean died in a fatal car crash.

Dean was killed on Sept. 30, 1955, when he was driving his new Porsche 550 Spyder to Salinas for a road race. Around 5:45 p.m., his sports car passed through the intersection of highways 41 and 46 at Cholame when a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo student in a Ford Tudor turning onto 41, collided with him. The Porsche crumpled on impact.

The budding movie star, 24, died of severe crash injuries, including a broken neck. But the highway has earned its deadly reputation and "Blood Alley" name many times over. In 2002, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that 54 people had died and another 690 were injured during the decade prior.

Since 2005, Caltrans has worked on making improvements to the dangerous highway with its State Route 46 Corridor Improvement Project, expanding the number of lanes and adding a new interchange.

Starting this week, motorists should notice new improvements on the treacherous stretch of road: "Travelers are on the new alignment following the three-day of 41 closure to connect the interchange to SR 41 to the north," Shivers wrote.

And there are more improvements to come, even this summer, according to the Caltrans spokesperson: "Travelers are using the new west bound lanes in the vicinity of the interchange, one lane in each direction until the new east bound lanes completed in about eight weeks," Shivers wrote.

Even with the closure lifted and new work on the deadly stretch of highway completed, Caltrans' Shivers was sure to let summer travelers know that work in the area will continue through the busy summer travel season.

"This is still a work zone, with work mostly away from moving traffic, but all should drive carefully," he cautioned. "Adhere to signage, electronic message boards and anticipate the new alignment."

SFGATE managing editor Katie Dowd contributed to this report.