El Camino Real upgrade could cost $30M-$50M in Millbrae

That plan, termed the Grand Boulevard Initiative, is attempting to coordinate various El Camino Real renewal efforts in 12 different cities, will likely cost $750 million total and take up to a decade to fully complete, SamTrans Director of Planning Millie Tolleson said. 

It’s attempting to make major changes to the road, which sees an unusually high number of fatal and serious pedestrian and biker injuries, with traffic calming, wider sidewalks, separated bikeways and increased bus stops. 

In Millbrae, that work will build off of the city’s already-designed 2022 El Camino Real and Downtown Specific Plan, which could include a “road diet” to shrink the number of lanes, as well as previous 2024 plans to reimagine the medians with trees and lights. 

“We know there’s a lot that’s already been done at the local level,” Tolleson said. “We’re not starting from scratch.” 

The potential for lane shrinkage in Millbrae has been controversial since it was originally proposed, which resident Vernon Bruce emphasized to the council during public comment. 

“I find it very hard to believe that a highway that was designed for six lanes decades ago … is going to be four or five possible lanes now,” he said. “I just can’t see the justification for what would probably be the same unused bicycle lanes I see now on El Camino.” 

Other cities, like Burlingame, are even further along with individual El Camino Real redevelopment plans — a long-awaited project to underground Pacific Gas and Electric utilities in the neighboring city is set to begin construction in 2026. 

An additional Caltrans effort to repair El Camino Real surface, sidewalk and street lights that will span from Millbrae to San Mateo has also been finalized. 

As work on the road continues, coordinating with neighboring cities will help expedite the Caltrans approval process and help qualify the county for larger state and federal grants, Tolleson said. Currently, the Grand Boulevard Initiative is still in the beginning vision stages, and getting to a construction-ready point could take from eight to 10 years. 

The SMCTA is able to commit up to 50% of funding for these types of transportation projects via countywide sales taxes, Patrick Gilster, Planning and Fund Management director, said. 

Even with this funding and other potential grant opportunities, some Millbrae councilmembers expressed concerns with the city’s ability to pay the other 50%, which, with construction and planning costs, could total $15 million to $20 million. 

Moving forward, it’s important for the City Council to understand the specific changes being proposed and how they correlate with existing plans for Millbrae’s section, given the amount of money the project will require, Councilmember Stephen Rainaldi said. 

“I think we need to understand the level of service as well as the key performance indicators to really understand how these dollars are spent, and how [if] they’re being spent properly,” he said. 

Although transportation agencies are attempting to coordinate a countywide approach to the project, ultimately, which improvements are made first will depend on local buy-in, Gilster said. 

“We’re looking at which cities have the political backing, that want to do these things and have the support,” he said. “Some cities that aren’t as far along as Millbrae, with some idea of what you want to do, it might take a little more to come along.”