HW 152-156 fix pending

Jan. 10, 2007
HIGHWAY 152-156 INTERSECTION GETS FEDERAL FUNDING.
By Gary Richards
Mercury News

Motorists who endure 10-mile backups before the Highway 152-156 intersection ... might finally ease.

Plans to upgrade two of the biggest traffic nightmares in the South Bay cleared major hurdles on Wednesday, with federal officials signing off on the 152-156 upgrade east of Gilroy ... .

Moving ahead first will be building a flyover ramp at 152 and 156, with the Federal Highway Administration signing the final paperwork after a five-month delay that frustrated local officials. The Valley Transportation Authority will advertise contracts for the $36 million project on Friday, with construction set to begin in April.

...

If the state gives its go ahead next month, it could come at the expense of widening 101 from Gilroy to the San Benito County line, removing left turn pockets and converting that section to a six-lane freeway. The price tag is $284 million.

But the traffic backups there are minimal, compared with other freeways in the nine Bay Area counties.

``It's pretty tough case to make that this is where all the congestion is,'' Rentschler said of the Gilroy area. ``That is not true. Our view is that there is a lot of congestion across the Bay Area and in Santa Clara County. This just doesn't happen to be one of them.''