Construction set to start in early June
Construction will begin in June on a long-awaited safety
improvement project on Hwy. 25 between Hunder Lane and the western
San Benito County line. The improvements will include the widening
of east and westbound traffic lanes to install concrete medians
between the lanes.
Construction set to start in early June
Construction will begin in June on a long-awaited safety improvement project on Hwy. 25 between Hunder Lane and the western San Benito County line. The improvements will include the widening of east and westbound traffic lanes to install concrete medians between the lanes.
“They [Caltrans] looked at the whole corridor and broke it into different phases and determined that that was the part that needed the most safety improvements,” said Mary Dinkuhn, a transportation planning manager for San Benito.
The conception of the project started in the early 2000s after several fatal accidents on the road. According to California Highway Patrol and the California Office of Traffic Safety statistics, between January 1999 and December 2003, there had been 218 accidents on Hwy. 25 in San Benito County.
The vast majority of those accidents were between intersections, a total of 178. The accidents led to 17 deaths and 164 injuries.
“Hwy. 25 being a two-lane with one [lane in each] direction, without any kind of barrier makes it difficult if someone crosses over the median,” said Matt Peters, a public information officer for the CHP. “In the past we have seen crossovers head on and this will definitely curb that.”
In addition to installing median barriers, part of the project includes creating access roads for the various private properties that now use Hwy. 25 to move tractors and other farm machinery to fields between Hudner Lane to Shore Road, and Shore Road to the county line.
“We’ve done our best in planning for the construction to minimize the impact,” Dinkuhn said. “We’ve worked with all the property owners and we are consolidating the private driveways and access points.”
Planning for the project began in 2004 with funding from the Redevelopment Agency.
“Back when we did the plan amendment, part of that in 2003 was to contribute $10 million to a Hwy. 25 safety project,” said Bill Avera, the director of development services for Hollister. “The idea was that it was a benefit. The finding was that it would provide better movement of people, goods and services.”
At the time, $1.5 million was used for the project planning and design.
“We really were ready to go with the project, but identified we could use state funds instead of RDA,” Dinkuhn said.
The rest of the $10 million was diverted to the Hwy. 25 bypass project, and the safety project was put on hold until the state funds became available.
“COG [Council of Governments] and the RDA both agreed that there were dollars that were needed for the bypass project,” Avera said. “And that was much more desirable than a safety because we really needed to get that together. And it runs adjacent to the [RDA district] so it has more of an impact.”
COG signed a contract with Graniterock Company’s Pavex Construction Division April 30 for $6.9 million to begin the project.
Funding for the project comes from a state bond past in November 2006 known as the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006. The bond included $4.5 billion for the Corridor Mobility Improvement Account, which the California Transportation Commission has been able to allocate to various state highwys.
It is estimated that the construction will take 10 months.
“We will know there will be some impacts on commute,” Dinkuhn said. “There will be night work done, but we will need to close lanes. Daytime construction will not be at commute peak hours, but as always when driving through a construction zone, drivers need to take a precaution.”
According to statistics from RBF, a consulting firm that created a downtown strategic plan, 60 percent of Hollister residents commute outside of the county for work.
Peters said Caltrans can request increased patrolling of construction zones by the CHP, though he said officers often take the initiative to increase their patrols on their own.
“Just like it says in our slogan, ‘Slow down in the cone zone,'” he said. “Watch for people slowing down in front of them and have a safety cushion. Pay attention to drive and not talk on speaker phones or be changing the radio station.”
The original environmental impact report, released in March 2005, called for four phases of the project that would eventually cover the entire roadway from Wright Road through to the railroad crossing just before the Hwy. 101 interchange. Construction for phases two to four of the original project is not planned, but improvements for the rest of Hwy. 25 will likely be incorporated into future highway upgrades.
“We are looking at phasing ultimately for a four-lane highway,” Dinkuhn said. “This [median project] would tie into that first phase.”
A groundbreaking ceremony will be held at the Park and Ride lot, south of Flynn Road, off Hwy. 25 at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, May 20.
