Hollister officials, upset by what they see as the state reneging on a planned swap of the existing, state-controlled Hwy. 25 route through downtown for the locally-funded, year-old bypass, are hoping to find a resolution through the California Transportation Commission.
Hollister officials, upset by what they see as the state reneging on a planned swap of the existing, state-controlled Hwy. 25 route through downtown for the locally-funded, year-old bypass, are hoping to find a resolution through the California Transportation Commission.
The City Council last week directed staff to send a letter to the local Council of Governments indicating that the city wants the state to agree to a relinquishment, rather than a route transfer, which the state prefers.
In a relinquishment, the state would take over the new road as a state highway and give the old state highway to the city “in a state of good repair,” which is what happened when the Hwy. 156 bypass was completed many years ago. The city estimates that the cost to repair the existing path through downtown and on Nash Road east to Airline Highway would be $2.5 million – which it says the state should fund.
Caltrans has noted it will only agree to a route transfer, in which the swap of roads occurs without the “state of good repair” stipulation, because the bypass was a locally-driven project, funded by a local tax measure, whereas the 156 bypass was a state-driven project. The transportation agency said it is willing to perform $125,000 worth of maintenance on the existing highway route, adding a “cape seal” on Nash/Tres Pinos Road from Rancho Drive west to San Benito Street and adding 21 handicapped-accessible ramps at intersections.
“Local people put all the money into (the bypass project) and now they’re getting stuck with the bill for Caltrans’ crappy old road,” said City Manager Clint Quilter, adding that the council’s direction is designed to get “COG to negotiate more aggressively” with the state for the relinquishment option.
While no formal, signed agreements exist between state and local agencies for that option, Quilter said “a number of commitments have been made along the way.”
Local pharmacist Steve Rosati, who was a member of the Measure A Committee that promoted the tax measure as a means for funding local road projects in the 1990s, encouraged the council to pursue state-funded repairs on the old highway route before agreeing to a transfer.
“We have a brand-new road that we’re going to be transferring over to Caltrans, while the old road has to be brought up to functionality, whatever that is,” he said.
See the full story in the Pinnacle on Friday.
