Hollister
– Santa Clara county has managed to harness nearly $40 million
to start building a flyover at the Don Pacheco Y intersection at
Highways 152 and 156, nearly ending a yearlong dispute between the
transportation agencies in Santa Clara and San Benito counties.
Hollister – Santa Clara county has managed to harness nearly $40 million to start building a flyover at the Don Pacheco Y intersection at Highways 152 and 156, nearly ending a yearlong dispute between the transportation agencies in Santa Clara and San Benito counties.
The project could break ground by the end of the year.
There’s one last hurdle, though. The Valley Transportation Authority has a language barrier with San Benito’s Council of Governments.
After months of debate, Santa Clara officials agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding in February with San Benito officials. But the VTA changed some language in the document, which has held up San Benito’s endorsement.
“Basically, we haven’t both signed the same MOU,” said Mary Dinkuhn, a planner with the San Benito COG, the county’s transportation authority.
Dinkuhn said the VTA changed a general reference to “transportation in the area” to include Highways 101, 25, 152, 156 and Cal Train. San Benito officials were also expecting to meet quarterly with the VTA and Dinkuhn said officials there changed it to an “as needed” basis.
San Benito County even hired a legislative analyst to hash out an acceptable draft of the MOU with Santa Clara. Dinkuhn said she expects an update at the next COG meeting on July 24.
Money for the project is flowing from various sources: $5.8 million split between local funds, $11.45 million from state funds and $18.6 million from federal funding, according to Brandi Hall, a VTA spokeswoman.
“That basically gave us the go-ahead,” she said, slating summer of 2008 as the earliest completion date.
Both counties have long agreed that the Don Pacheco Y-intersection causes too much gridlock and accidents – twice as many as other California highways – in its current form.
While San Benito County supervisors agree the project is crucial to safety at the Don Pacheco Y, they have voiced concerns that the flyover design will funnel more truck traffic onto the county’s already overtaxed roads. Some on the board want the VTA to provide funds to repair roads in San Benito, should it be proven that the flyover does increase traffic in the county.
Banks Albach covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335, or [email protected].
