The first phase of a project designed to realign a well-traveled
portion of Cienega Road is getting under way south of
Hollister.
HOLLISTER
The first phase of a project designed to realign a well-traveled portion of Cienega Road is getting under way south of Hollister.
San Benito County supervisors recently approved a $422,160 contract with Don Chapin Co. to build a bridge over a drainage culvert in what will eventually straighten out a small stretch of Cienega Road, which snakes its way to Hollister Hills State Vehicular Recreation Area and the county’s wine-growing region.
The straightened portion of the road will be built through a field west of the San Benito River, giving motorists an option to avoid two sharp turns near the Montebello Estates and Ashford Highlands subdivisions.
County Public Works Administrator Steve Wittry said Phase 2 of the $2.3 million project – the actual construction of the road – will follow, though when it will occur “is dependent on funding and the state budget situation.”
The realignment will allow motorists who enter Cienega just west of the Union Road bridge crossing of the San Benito River to drive straight to Hospital Road, and then turn right to rejoin the old portion of Cienega heading southwest.
Currently, drivers – many of whom are towing trailers – make a sharp right then a sharp left as Cienega winds past Montebello Estates and the entrance to the hilltop Ashford subdivision.
See the complete story in the Friday edition of The Weekend Pinnacle, which will post online Friday evening at www.pinnaclenews.com
Below is The News and You, a talk show devoted to San Benito County. This week’s topic is the local roads. Check it out.
