SACRAMENTO — After another car-crash tragedy on a notoriously dangerous East Bay road, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday signed a measure doubling fines in the zone and indicated there will be enough officers to enforce it.

The new Vasco Road zone extends between its junction with Interstate 580 in Alameda County to the Walnut Boulevard intersection in Contra Costa County.

Four people died earlier this month in a head-on collision during the day on the road, bringing the toll on the winding 15-mile stretch, connecting Brentwood to I-580, to 16 since 2003.

"Establishing double-fine zones is of little value unless we have the ability to enforce those zones," the governor said at a public signing ceremony at the Capitol. "To that end, the budget I signed in June will add over 200 new positions to the California Highway Patrol."

Sen. Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch, who authored the bill, noted that the measure had passed both houses last year and was held at the Senate desk until the latest tragedy.

Torlakson, who held a news conference in Concord with local government officials, safety groups and accident survivors after the recent crash, called not only for action by the governor but also immediate improvements to the road.

"Most sections of the road have just two lanes, no center dividers, and narrow, unpaved shoulders," Torlakson said. "Speeding, illegal passing and other unsafe driving occurs far too frequently."

The Republican governor, who is running for re-election, said his proposed budget includes billions of dollars for improvements to highways such as Vasco Road, which handles more traffic than they were originally designed to accommodate.

About 20,000 cars use Vasco Road daily.

But Schwarzenegger did not specifically confirm there will be any improvements to the road — a project that is among many that must be constantly weighed against other needs statewide.

The governor also pointed to Vasco Road as an example of a statewide policy problem.

"Although Senate Bill 3 will provide education for motorists on Vasco Road, we need a statewide policy in this area," the governor said. "So, I am again asking the Legislature to provide the state Department of Transportation the authority to work directly with local governments to determine where such zones are best located."

The double-fine zone on Vasco Road remains in effect until Jan. 1, 2010, unless extended.