Dedication of new route set for Monday
The long-anticipated Hwy. 25 bypass through Hollister is about
to open.
Dedication of new route set for Monday
The long-anticipated Hwy. 25 bypass through Hollister is about to open.
Monday, Jan. 26, at 3 p.m., officials will gather on the section of the bypass between Hillcrest Road and East Park Street for a formal dedication. The 2.7-mile stretch of highway will open to motorists soon after, likely some time later next week.
Local officials and a representative from Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel are expected to be on hand, according to Mary Dinkuhn, transportation planning manager for the county Council of Governments, which oversees the project.
“Everyone’s welcome to come to the ceremony,” Dinkuhn said. “It’s the community’s project, really.”
Once upon a time, many California highways were routed right through the heart of towns. Hwy. 101 traced the main drag of Gilroy and Morgan Hill, and Hwy. 1 bisected Watsonville.
Hwy. 25 still officially makes its way right down Hollister’s main drag, San Benito Street before veering left on Nash Road and eventually out of town on Airline Highway.
The California Department of Transportation is expected eventually to officially designate the bypass as the new path of Hwy. 25, but that process will take a while as local agencies and the state negotiate the transfer.
Once downtown’s main drag is no longer a state highway, crosswalks and improvements that will make the street more attractive for shopping and strolling can take place.
The idea of a highway bypass around downtown dates to the mid-1980s. San Benito County voters passed Measure A, a 1 percent sales tax measure intended to fund local transportation improvements. Other projects included the extension of San Benito Street and Union Road.
“The residents of the community that supported the initiative years ago should be really happy and proud of themselves,” said Steve Rosati of Hollister, a member of the committee that drafted and campaigned for Measure A. “It’s the power of the people, so to speak.”
Work on the bypass began in May of 2007. The roadway will carry traffic from where the Bolsa now joins San Felipe Road to the intersection of Sunnyslope Road and Airline Highway via an arching path through the eastern section of town.
The roadway is posted at 35 mph, and signal lights will control traffic at all major intersections, Dinkuhn said. Bicycle lanes run the length of the bypass and sidewalks line the route along at least one side of its entire length.
Although it’s less than three miles long, the project proved to be an expensive undertaking. “The last official update, including contract change orders and other items, is $52.1 million,” Dinkuhn said. The price of asphalt dipped at just the right time to realize some cost savings on the project, she added.
The new route is certain to engender some confusion among motorists as they learn to make use of it initially and Dinkuhn urged a measure of patience and caution.
“Remember, the intersections are all signalized,” she cautioned.
“This is a major accomplishment for the community,” Rosati said. “It’s long overdue.”
