Woodside/101 revamp plans taking shape

The plans have long been in the making for the city, which is sponsoring the project, Caltrans, the agency who owns the interchange and the San Mateo County Transportation Authority, which Krupka said is providing the lion’s share of the $10 million currently committed toward the project, which could cost up to $127 million when complete.

“This action the council just took to authorize the design contract really is a major milestone step for this project,” he said.

The effort to draw detailed plans for a new diagonal and partial cloverleaf on-ramps to funnel northbound traffic onto the highway, diamond on- and off-ramps to redirect southbound traffic and accompanying traffic signals and nearby street improvements could help planners garner additional funds for the project, said Krupka.

Krupka said the interchange’s location in priority corridors identified by local and state efforts to pool tax dollars for road improvements position it well for grant cycles. Having funded interchange projects in nearby Menlo Park and San Carlos, Krupka said local Measure A sales tax dollars are one possible source of funding, with recently passed Senate Bill 1 offering a new funding opportunity. But he also anticipated those funding opportunities to be fairly competitive, with much-needed projects being prepared across the state and region for grant applications.

“The challenge that everybody talks about and everybody knows about is funding,” he said.

Combined with a lack of clarity of how federal funds would factor into the project, the funding uncertainty planners face poses a major obstacle for the project, one which Krupka said could delay construction. At the earliest, construction could start in May of 2020 when the plans are expected to be finalized, but Krupka said that could change in the coming months.

Though Krupka acknowledged traffic mitigation fees and community benefits from proposed and recently approved developments in the city could be another source of funds, they wouldn’t be included in the project budget unless formal agreements are finalized.

“It’s not there until it’s committed,” he said.

An offer to dedicate $10 million toward the project included in the Jay Paul Company’s Harbor View proposal to build a 1.2-million-square-foot office complex east at the former Malibu Grand Prix site just north of the interchange could help fill the funding gap, but Krupka said the funds from that project and others could not be counted on until they are approved. The City Council approved an initiation of a general plan amendment Monday to study the impact of the project on the surrounding area, but months of public outreach and hearings are expected before a final determination on the project could be expected. At least two other residential projects less than 2 miles away at the former Century Park 12 movie theater and 1548 Maple St., adjacent to the Docktown Marina, would make more than 450 housing units available, if approved.

Krupka said any projects proposed near the interchange have been considered in the environmental impact assessment of the project, with congestion estimates projected out as far as 2042.

The project’s timeline will also hinge on how the city will acquire or secure right-of-way for the project and its construction. Krupka said the city will also incorporate plans to build a street-level bicycle and pedestrian path that would connect trails and businesses on the city’s east side with its core as the interchange’s design takes shape. The new path, which garnered a $948,000 grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission earlier this year, would facilitate passage between the east and west sides of the freeway, which has historically been a barrier to pedestrian and bike traffic.

Krupka said keeping the public informed on the project’s progress would be a priority for planners, and expected a schedule for update opportunities to be ready by September.

Though he acknowledged a long road lies ahead for the interchange, Krupka was enthusiastic about seeing concrete plans for the major city connection take shape.

“We’re excited, we’re moving ahead and we’re going to go get the funding for it and make this thing happen,” he said.

Visit redwoodcity.org/departments/community-development-department/engineering-transportation/transportation-parking/101-woodside-interchange to sign up for updates on the interchange projects and for more information.

anna@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 102