Figure could go as high as 55 mph in a section of the 2.4 mile
roadway
Transportation officials are ready to increase the speed limit
on the Hwy. 25 bypass from 35 mph to somewhere around 50 or 55 mph
in at least one section of the road after completing a survey last
spring that justified the boost, officials told the Pinnacle.
Figure could go as high as 55 mph in a section of the 2.4 mile roadway
Transportation officials are ready to increase the speed limit on the Hwy. 25 bypass from 35 mph to somewhere around 50 or 55 mph in at least one section of the road after completing a survey last spring that justified the boost, officials told the Pinnacle.
The long-awaited bypass opened last spring, and the biggest criticism has been the 35 mph speed and how it inhibits the natural flow of traffic on the 2.4-mile roadway. Council of San Benito County Governments officials partnered with the city to have the speed survey conducted to find the most appropriate number.
That figure is determined by finding the speed at which the 85th percentile of drivers travel, noted Mary Dinkuhn, COG’s transportation planning manager.
An increase isn’t a guarantee, but appears likely with so much consensus that the speed limit is too low and so many drivers going much faster than the posted maximum. COG first must obtain approvals from the Hollister City Council and San Benito County Board of Supervisors, so a precise date for a change is unclear at this point.
The local transportation agency also has been keeping Caltrans – which is on board with the boost – apprised of the speed limit alteration, Dinkuhn said. In the next year or so, COG expects to hand over jurisdiction of the highway to Caltrans, which then plans to relinquish authority over San Benito Street to the city as well.
Dinkuhn said she was hesitant to disclose the targeted speed limit because “it hasn’t been finally determined yet.”
Hollister’s Associate Civil Engineer David Rubcic, though, noted that part of the bypass under the proposal would be 50 or 55 mph while another section would be 40 or 45 mph.
“What will happen, both the city and county need to make the change,” Rubcic said. “It’s a legal action that has to occur.”
The apparently necessary change stems from COG using plans “set in the early stage of design” in the late 1990s, Dinkuhn said. When COG opened the bypass it contended the speed limit fit in line with state standards for the type of road.
“When you’re designing something, you set a speed limit,” she said.
City Councilwoman Pauline Valdivia, whose District 3 runs along a large portion of the bypass, agreed that the speed should increase. But she said she wouldn’t want it to be more than 50 mph.
“I think maybe 50 – I can live with that,” said Valdivia, noting how she has some concern about safety because school is back in session.
She does see the need for a boost, however, because the bypass lends itself to higher speeds with lacking congestion. She said she often drives the bypass herself and has to watch her own speed.
“It’s not like packed with cars,” Valdivia said. “I really make an effort, but it’s hard to keep it down.”
