Famous rest stop reopens

Two years after closing for renovations, Caltrans reopened the famous Crystal Springs rest area on Interstate 280 yesterday afternoon with new features including a California Highway Patrol drop-in center and rest rooms equipped to accommodate people with disabilities.

The rest area, just north of Bunker Hill Drive, is famous for a variety of reasons, including its proximity to the renowned Junipero Serra statue that overlooks the highway and for its past, including a long-running dispute with a former caretaker that ended up in court.

The old rest stop was not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act so Caltrans added a third rest room specifically designed for people with disabilities or elderly people who are traveling with caregivers of the opposite gender.

Other new features include a wheelchair-accessible ramp, landscaping, vending machines and security cameras. The space, at the western edge of Hillsborough, has pay phones, picnic tables and an area for pets and a hiking trail.

Hillsborough Councilwoman Christine Krolik praised Caltrans yesterday for bringing the project in under budget and for the rest area’s sustainable touches, including water-conserving toilets and drought-resistant landscaping.

Caltrans spent $2.7 million sprucing up the area.

"It is virtually a brand-new facility,” Caltrans spokesman Dan McElhinney said at yesterday afternoon’s grand reopening.

The rest area expects to serve more than 200,000 vehicles a year, he said.

It will be an area for big-rig drivers to perform safety inspections and to get much needed rest after long hours of driving, McElhinney said.

Caltrans has 87 rest areas in the state, with three in the Bay Area.

"This is just drop-dead beautiful,” County Supervisor Carole Groom said yesterday. "You’ve given us a great gift and I assure you we will take care of it.”

Nearly eight years ago, the rest area became the center of controversy as its former caretaker Jerry Morissette refused to leave the state-owned trailer he occupied on the land after Morissette allegedly acted belligerently toward 911 dispatchers.

Morissette moved onto the property, located along northbound Interstate 280 in Hillsborough in 1991. In 12 years, he turned a plot of land favored by drug users and men looking for casual sex into a mini-oasis replete with gardens and various fruit trees. Giving him a trailer to live in, Caltrans eventually allowed Morissette to stay in exchange for deterring the unsavory activities.

Caltrans, however, ultimately ended the California Rest Stop Caretaker Program and evicted Morissette from the land.

Now, CHP security cameras will monitor the area for suspicious activity.

Construction on the rest area facilities began in September 2009.

Bill Silverfarb can be reached by email: silverfarb@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.