San Carlos interchange improvements get funding boost

“I think it will represent a significant improvement in traffic congestion and public safety,” he said. “It is a big priority for the city, it’s also a priority regionally.”

Though efforts to assess the interchange have been in motion for some 10 years, Public Works Director Jay Walter said increases in the cost of construction and unanticipated drainage and utility work augmented the project’s budget. Walter, who is leaving his post at the end of December after three years with the city, said obtaining funds from some seven agencies, including the state, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the City/County Association of Governments, has been a focus for him in recent months.

“We’ve really worked hard in the last year to come up with additional money for it,” he said.  

Walter said redesigning the interchange’s cloverleaf entrances and exits and creating a new connection for pedestrians and bicyclists is expected to cost a total of $35 million, adding that efforts to design and review the environmental effects of the project also factored into the cost. Walter said $24 million had been committed from outside grant funds and that the city is expected to commit $11 million to the project when the council discusses the project in February. Should the council agree on the final amount coming from the city coffers at that meeting, Walter said the project could break ground as early as June or July. 

Replacing two of the four cloverleaf entrances with additional lanes and traffic signals at Holly Street are among the changes aimed at improving the safety of drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians traveling on a major city thoroughfare to get to Highway 101 and office buildings east of it, said Walter. 

He said creating a separate bridge for bicyclists and pedestrians might encourage workers and residents with concerns about using Holly Street for their commutes to look at other options. He said that together with a separate project to install a new traffic signal at East San Carlos Avenue and Industrial Road, the interchange improvements would chart a path for bicyclists from the San Carlos Caltrain station to the office buildings on the east side of Highway 101, as well as to the 204-room Landmark hotel being constructed near the new signal. 

Walter expects the project to take an estimated 18 months once ground is broken, and said because the construction will mostly be taking place above or near the highway, some night work will be necessary. He said there may be congestion near on- and off-ramps during construction but expected regular traffic patterns on Holly Street to continue. 

Though Walter acknowledged the project timeline has extended past initial projections, he said it’s taken the city some time to understand all the regulations in place and agencies at play when making improvements to the interchange and was pleased to see it move forward. 

“It’s one of those projects that people always hope it could be done a lot faster than it actually is,” he said. “It’s a very complex undertaking … whenever you work on the state highway system, it’s very complicated.” 

Johnson said he was looking forward to a project aimed at bringing relief to commuters take shape after mounting concerns from residents about congestion in the city and on freeways. 

“As there’s increased growth and economic activity in the region and in San Carlos, we are trying to make reducing traffic congestion a top priority because we know it impacts the quality of life,” he said. 

anna@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 102