As the county moves closer to the start date for Highway 25
safety improvements, community concerns about the project seem to
be calming. But some residents are still worried the project’s
plans for consolidating private driveways would take away their
land without giving them financial compensation and put liability
on individual property owners for accidents on communal
driveways.
Hollister – As the county moves closer to the start date for Highway 25 safety improvements, community concerns about the project seem to be calming. But some residents are still worried the project’s plans for consolidating private driveways would take away their land without giving them financial compensation and put liability on individual property owners for accidents on communal driveways.
The Council of San Benito County Governments (COG) and CalTrans plan to improve safety on Hwy. 25 by consolidating about 12 driveways into common frontage roads shared by residents along the road, according to COG Transportation Planner Mary Dinkuhn. Although engineers say it’s a necessary safety precaution, some farmers believe they will be forced to give their land away for free.
“They’re taking away our land, which would amount to, I don’t know, maybe an acre or two or three, and they’re not actually buying it. It’s going to stay in our title, and yet I have to give over right of ways to my neighbors and anybody else who wants to drive down my driveway,” said George Rajkovich, a local farmer.
He spoke out at a community meeting COG and CalTrans held Thursday night.
Eileen Goodwin, a community outreach consultant who is helping COG staff with the project, said land owners will be paid for their land from the project’s $10 million budget.
“Once we clear the environmental studies that will prove taking over these right of ways is necessary, we’ll be able to sit down and discuss compensation with the property owners,” Goodwin said. “There’s not going to be a situation where we go in there and take their land without paying them for it.”
Some residents were also concerned about who would own and maintain the roads. Goodwin said either the residents will share ownership or the county will take responsibility.
Decreasing the numerous private driveways on the busy highway and creating turn lanes should result in fewer rear-end accidents while drivers are waiting to turn off the dangerous road, said Project Engineer Tim Lee.
Construction on the first of the four-phase safety improvement project is scheduled to begin at the end of next year. Phase one, which should be completed by the end of 2006, will include the driveway consolidations and the installation of a concrete meridian barrier.
Phases two through four will include improvements to the new communal driveways, installation of more concrete barriers, and the addition of a left turn lane by Uesugi and Z-Best farms.
But so far, COG only has about $10 million in Redevelopment Agency funds to complete all the phases.
“There have already been a bunch of safety improvements, and this project is just finishing them off. This is pretty well the maximum of improvements you can do before widening the road (into four lanes),” Lee said. “Now that we have this $10 million to play with, we’ll do phase one and see if we have enough left to do phase two.”
Jessica Quandt covers politics for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at jq*****@fr***********.com.
