Forgetting the fact that the Highway 25 bypass sprouted a $15.5
million deficit seemingly overnight, both city and county officials
need to sacrifice to make the important project a reality.
Forgetting the fact that the Highway 25 bypass sprouted a $15.5 million deficit seemingly overnight, both city and county officials need to sacrifice to make the important project a reality.
In February, the San Benito Council of Governments announced the long-awaited Highway 25 bypass project – which would realign Highway 25 through the center of Hollister circumventing downtown – had serious money problems. The Council of Governments planned to use more than $9.2 million in traffic impact fees to cover most of the gap, leaving $6.3 million of funding left to be found. Last week, officials for the city of Hollister and San Benito County sparred over who would give up what transportation projects to solve the dilemma.
Predictably, neither the county or the city volunteered to a cut their transportation improvements.
The problem is the bypass offers benefits for both the county and the city – if it’s ever built. It’s a project that has crawled toward completion for decades, but COG has vowed it will begin construction in 2007.
The city stands to gain control of San Benito Street through downtown from Caltrans, opening the door for redevelopment and further beautification projects to boost a struggling economy and strengthen our city’s core. Caltrans control of San Benito Street quashed RDA plans to install more crosswalks that would match the inlaid stones of the sidewalk last year and makes closing the road for parades and events like the rally subject to their approval.
The county benefits by creating a better thoroughfare that keeps people from driving all the way down San Benito Street and Nash Road before meeting up with the expressway again on Airline Highway.
It’s because of these shared benefits that there must be shared burden to get it built.
Here’s the solution: The city of Hollister should forgo the North Street extension connecting Buena Vista Avenue with San Benito Street and add the project’s $5.5 million to offset the bypass budget gap. The county should give up its plans to realign John Smith Road on Fairview, saving $1.8 million. And discussions of touching the $12 million set aside for safety improvements on Highway 25 to pay for the bypass should end now – that’s just robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Neither the North Street Extension or John Smith Road will impact residents as much as the bypass and safety improvements on Highway 25 – a road every resident uses on a regular basis. Both the county and city must realize that Highway 25 is the greatest priority for everyone.
It’s time to stop the squabbling, share the pain and keep the much-needed-but-long-delayed bypass on schedule.
