92/101 connector lane effort resumes

The most recent tentative plan would add a lane connection between State Route 92 and the Highway 101 express lanes, which, according to a recent TA presentation, would “reduce weaving and merging of traffic.”

At its meeting Tuesday, April 23, leaders said the effort is also meant to prioritize high-occupancy lane use and prevent people driving on local streets by eliminating bottlenecks. 

“This will improve travel time reliability for those traveling between 101 and encourage carpooling,” said Sherina Lam, deputy project manager for the consultant firm Kimley-Horn. 

The agency is contemplating various options, including a connector lane benefiting mostly morning commuters or another suited solely for the evening rush. A third alternative would offer a reversible lane accommodating traffic during both during early and later hours. 

But Mike Swire, member of the San Mateo County Transportation Authority Citizen Advisory Committee, said, similar to other highway widening efforts, adding the connector only encourages driving and de-prioritizes more urgent needs, including road repair and investment in better public transportation. 

For those traveling from the East Bay to San Mateo, taking BART and connecting to Caltrain in Millbrae is the primary non-driving option, but such a circuitous route is not nearly as enticing as a direct trip across the bridge. And despite heavy traffic, many commuters working for large firms on the Peninsula simply rely on employer-sponsored buses. 

"There is currently no public transit on the San Mateo Bridge. If the main beneficiaries here are the corporate shuttles, let the tech companies pay for the project instead of burdening San Mateo County taxpayers,” he said. 

Tapping corporate sponsors for large transportation infrastructure projects has not historically been the norm, but it did contribute to the most recent Highway 101 express lanes project completed last year. About $53 million of the $581 million total cost was provided by private firms, and about $30 million — not including an additional $100 million construction loan — came from Measure A, a county-wide sales tax meant to fund transportation initiatives. 

San Mateo Councilmember Adam Loraine said he is also concerned with the prospect of induced demand as a result of adding lanes, but cited the benefits of the Highway 101 express lane, such as the recent creation of the EPX bus route, which now takes passengers from East Palo Alto to San Francisco.

“When all this is put together, we’ll at least, hopefully, have a project that is seeking not just to increase highway capacity but do it in a thoughtful way to reduce congestion, while also facilitating bus transportation and carpooling,” Loraine said. 

TA officials said it’s too early to assess the total cost of the State Route 92 and Highway 101 effort, although estimates from 2021 ranged from $173 million to $193 million. The agency will hold another public meeting on Wednesday, May 1, at the Foster City Community Center.

alyse@smdailyjournal.com

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