Construction on the Highway 156 Corridor Improvement Project will continue with large-scale earthwork moving, according to a project update from the California Department of Transportation. The upcoming work will be focused east of Mission Vineyard Road and continuing toward Union Road.
Crews are stabilizing the previously irrigated landscape with lime to help stabilize and harden the soil, according to Caltrans.
Progress on earthworks and below-surface work will continue, weather permitting, with “only minor delays having been experienced during recent rains,” reads a press release from Caltrans.
During the next several weeks, there will be temporary daytime closures of Union Road between Highway 156 and San Juan Oaks Road, with flaggers who will stop travelers on Union Road every 15 to 20 minutes to permit heavy machinery to carry their loads across Union Road, Caltrans said. Notification of these closures on Union Road will be provided in future updates.
The long-term closure of San Juan Hollister Road continues with the road remaining closed between Union Road and Business Route 156. The realignment of San Juan Hollister Road is part of the Highway 156 Corridor Improvement Project. This closure is scheduled to be in place until May 2023.
Travel on Highway 156 will be unaffected by the closure of San Juan Hollister Road, Caltrans said.
The San Benito Route 156 Improvement Project will construct a four-lane expressway immediately south of the existing Highway 156 alignment. This 5.2-mile project will begin in San Juan Bautista at The Alameda and continue to just east of Highway 156 Business Route (Fourth Street) in Hollister.
During construction, access will be closed from Highway 156 to Mission Vineyard Road in San Juan Bautista. Also, travelers will not be able to access San Juan Hollister Road from Union Road.
Updates for the San Benito Route 156 Improvement Project can be found on the Transportation Updates page of the Council of San Benito County Governments at sanbenitocog.org/transportation-updates.
The contractor for this project is Teichert Construction of Sacramento. This project is expected to conclude in Summer 2025, according to Caltrans.
