The governor wants to re-build California’s infrastructure. The
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority wants to hike its sales
tax again.
The governor wants to re-build California’s infrastructure. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority wants to hike its sales tax again. OK, everyone, it’s time to be clear on Job No. 1: Fix Highway 152 from the Don Pacheco Y to U.S. 101. It’s deadly, it’s polluting, it’s anti-commerce, it’s a statewide problem and a local nightmare, it’s an embarrassment and it’s about time that officials – including San Benito County leaders – pull together to get this done.
Clearly, Highway 152 isn’t as “sexy” a road project as, say, the widening of U.S. 101 from San Jose through Coyote Valley to Morgan Hill. Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage spearheaded that project and did a darn fine job of keeping everyone focused and getting the politicians to buy into the obvious need.
The same kind of focused leadership is needed on the Highway 152 front. We are calling on Gage to reconvene a Highway 152 committee that includes members of the San Benito County Council of Governments – the local transportation agency – to meet and advocate for a long-term solution to this chronically choked and tragic 13-mile stretch of road. A former committee, buoyed by former state Assemblyman Rusty Areias, kept the focus on Highway 152 over a decade-long span and managed to turn two lanes into four and get a median barrier erected among other things. Now, we’re left 13 miles short of a major state roadway improvement. The revived committee should include residents and some high-powered politicians – like Sen. Elaine Alquist – who can spearhead and pinpoint efforts to secure funding and consensus. This can be done.
For many, Highway 152 represents a daily commute. For others, it’s the route to see family or enjoy a ski weekend. For the trucking industry, it’s a primary avenue to get goods to and from Silicon Valley or the Monterey Bay to all points east. For too many, it’s a traffic trap that can turn weekend plans into a nightmare.
What this last 13-mile stretch represents to all of us is failure – failure to see a project through to completion, failure to recognize a clear transportation priority in our area, failure to take on a tough task, and failure to keep the pressure and focus on until there is a solution.
As one recent letter writer wrote, “It is criminal how both elected officials and Caltrans have allowed Highway 152 to remain a two-lane bloodbath. It should have been enlarged 30 years ago!”
How many more years will we “study” the problem? How many more human beings will tragically lose their lives on this dangerous road? It’s time for leadership rubber to meet this road and get it fixed.
