San Benito County supervisors this week approved the designation
of the Highway 25 bypass, completed in early 2009, as a truck
route. Only, the way the bypass was designed, it is not suited for
larger semi-trucks that often travel across state lines. And fixing
those intersections on the bypass could cost an additional $300,000
for each one.
San Benito County supervisors this week approved the designation of the Highway 25 bypass, completed in early 2009, as a truck route. Only, the way the bypass was designed, it is not suited for larger semi-trucks that often travel across state lines. And fixing those intersections on the bypass could cost an additional $300,000 for each one.
Supervisors agreed unanimously in favor of the designation, which appears to be a formality at this point. Hollister council members are set to approve the switch in the coming weeks – which has been supported by officials from the city and county, as well as the San Benito County Council of Governments and the California Highway Patrol.
The move would establish Highway 25 as the main truck route in the county. The primary route now cuts through downtown Hollister at the Fourth Street intersection.
When voters passed Measure A to allocate funding in the 1980s, they agreed that the truck route heading into downtown would be dissolved once the bypass was finished and eventually handed over to local governments. The matter regarding dissolving of the current truck route is set to go before council members in October.
Supervisors also agreed to write a letter in agreement with the dissolving of the downtown route.
The Highway 25 bypass, meanwhile, is designed for standard-sized tractor-trailers, but cannot take on “super trucks” that usually ship across state lines. As of now, truckers who head through the county are forced to reduce their trailer size because the roads aren’t designed to handle the wider turns of the bigger trucks. That adds an additional cost to those shippers.
Officials said it had been an oversight years ago – on the bypass design – when planning was under way for the Highway 25 truck route.
Estimates show that changing Highway 25’s intersections to allow super trucks now would cost up to $300,000 for each intersection, depending on the area.
To make the Highway 25 bypass a truck route, it must get approval from the involved government entities, including the county, the City of Hollister, the Council of San Benito County Governments and the California Highway Patrol.
With the move, truck traffic would be allowed on the 2.4-mile road for the first time.
