Planners at the Council of San Benito County Governments
recently announced there’s a potential $800,000 budget shortfall
for construction of the Highway 25 bypass.
Hollister – Planners at the Council of San Benito County Governments recently announced there’s a potential $800,000 budget shortfall for construction of the Highway 25 bypass.
Transportation Planning Manager Mary Dinkuhn said the extra costs come from unanticipated land acquisition expenses, which were the “hardest to estimate.” COG also had to pay for additional design work, she said.
“I don’t anticipate any other potential shortfalls,” Dinkuhn said.
If that extra $800,000 is needed, it will come from $10 million provided by the Hollister Redevelopment Agency for safety improvements on Highway 25, she said. Shifting the funds won’t affect the safety project, because COG has also received $8.5 million from the State Transportation Improvement Program that it will use to “replace” the RDA funds.
Hollister City Manager Clint Quilter emphasized that the potential shortfall will only involve money already committed to COG, rather than new RDA funds. City staff have determined that the bypass is an appropriate use for the money, he said.
Locals are hoping the project, budgeted at $45 million, will help ease traffic congestion on Highway 25 and make downtown Hollister more pedestrian friendly by routing traffic away from San Benito Street. San Juan Bautista Councilman George Dias, who sits on COG’s board of directors, said at the groundbreaking ceremony that serious efforts to make the bypass a reality began after the passage of the Measure A sales tax in 1988.
County Supervisor Don Marcus, also on the COG board, said the bypass is unlikely to encounter any more substantial problems, because most unexpected variables normally come up early in the construction process.
“I hope most of the shortfalls are behind us now,” Marcus said. “I would be very disappointed if I found out about any more hidden costs that weren’t predicted.”
Contractor Pavex Construction has also turned in change orders for increased costs, but those fall well within the contingency money included in the project budget, Dinkuhn said.
The county is still in final negotiations with a few remaining property owners. Most of the landowners still in litigation have said they think COG hasn’t offered a reasonable deal.
Earlier this year, Dinkuhn said the $13.5 million land acquisition budget should be enough to cover unexpected expenses because it was calculated based on “worst-case scenarios.” Asked Friday if those estimates hadn’t been pessimistic enough, Dinkuhn said, “I guess not.”
