A presidential order to streamline construction of
transportation projects could shave several years and millions of
dollars off the drive to widen Highway 25.
A presidential order to streamline construction of transportation projects could shave several years and millions of dollars off the drive to widen Highway 25.
The widening of the highway, a Caltrans priority road construction project, has been nominated by the state highway agency to be reviewed in a federal program aimed at streamlining the environmental review process and speeding up construction of much-needed projects.
“We have been nominated as one of 12 projects from California that will be going to Washington for review,” Hollister City Manager George Lewis said.
With 21 fatalities on the highway in less than three years, officials with the state Department of Transportation thought the project would be a natural choice for nomination.
“Our district nominated that project on Nov. 13,” Caltrans District Five spokesman Colin Jones said.
He said the nomination received letters of support from the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments, the Council of San Benito County Governments and the Stay Alive on Highway 25 campaign.
Lewis said the streamlining project was the result of Executive Order 13274, signed by President Bush on Sept. 18. As a result, the U.S. Department of Transportation started a program to review a number of priority projects to see where and how it can cut out bureaucratic steps that would speed up the process.
“It has the potential of significantly reducing the environmental review process,” Lewis said.
In 2001, the median time to process environmental documents for major highway projects was 4 1/2 years, according to statistics from the U.S. DOT.
“Too many transportation projects become mired for too long in the complex web of clearances required by federal and state law. This initiative is intended to make our transportation investments more efficient, helping to ease congestion and reduce pollution,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta said in a written statement.
Jones said even if Highway 25 is selected for the streamlining project, exactly how much time and money will be saved is not known.
“It’s too early to speculate on that,” Jones said.
Proponents of the widening of Highway 25 were pleased by the news that the highway could be selected for the streamlining project.
“That would be a wonderful culmination of the efforts of Brad Pike’s group (Stay Alive on 25) and our group,” said Capt. Bob Davies, commander of the California Highway Patrol’s Hollister-Gilroy Unit.
Davies, who is also the chairman of the Highway 25 Safety Corridor Task Force, has been working with local officials such as Lewis and with community activists such as Pike to push for greater safety on Highway 25 and ultimately widen the highway to four lanes with a center divider to reduce head-on collisions.
“Just the fact that it was nominated is a testament to the type of results a community effort can have when we all pull together in the same direction,” Davies said. “Everybody wants to see this highway fixed.”
