Preparation continues for the widening of Highway 25, but San
Benito County’s transportation agency is worried that current plans
may put the project’s cost far out of reach.
Hollister – Preparation continues for the widening of Highway 25, but San Benito County’s transportation agency is worried that current plans may put the project’s cost far out of reach.
The Council of San Benito County Governments approved a letter Thursday arguing that the state’s plans, to be included in the project’s environmental impact report, are too costly. Those plans involve building a new four-lane highway next to the existing route and using the old highway as a frontage road to consolidate access.
According to the letter, building a new highway would put the project’s total cost at around $300 million. Barring a dramatic change in San Benito County’s funding situation, it would take 50 years for the county to save that much money.
At the Thursday meeting of COG’s board of directors, Executive Director Lisa Rheinheimer said the California Department of Transportation’s plans would are “absolutely out of our price range.”
“We don’t want to send a message to the community that we can get a project done that we can’t done with the funding available to us,” Rheinheimer said.
Richard Rosales, the project manager with Caltrans, told the Free Lance that the county and the state both want to find “a solution that’s obtainable funding-wise.” As of Wednesday afternoon, Rosales hadn’t seen COG’s letter, but he said Caltrans will examine different money-saving options.
Local commuters and leaders have said the widening is necessary to relieve congestion and make the highway a safer place. Hollister resident Catalina Lemos said she drives on Highway 25 just once a week, but she’s still a fan of the project.
“I’ve got little ones and I think about accidents,” she said,
Lemos added that she doesn’t care whether the state widens the existing highway or builds a new one, as long as it does “whatever they have to do to get it done.”
Building the highway on the existing alignment could save $27.9 million, according to the letter. Even with those savings, the widening could cost more than $270 million.
Caltrans and COG need to work together and “look under every rock” to find cost-saving options, Rheinheimer said.
Hollister Mayor Brad Pike, who sits on COG’s board of directors, has been campaigning for safety improvements on Highway 25 since 2000. Some of those improvements, such as the “rumble strips” down the middle of the highway, have already happened. And Pike estimated that others will be coming in “the next couple of years.”
Construction of the widening itself isn’t scheduled to begin until 2012, according to Caltrans documents, but Pike said he’s satisfied with the pace of progress.
“I honestly knew the widening portion would be a longevity thing,” he said. “But obviously, I’m very anxious to see it happen within my lifetime.”
