New gas tax funds to pay for Highway 85 road paving
Q What is the construction on Highway 85 that is going to take three months to complete? — Ralph Fullerton, Victoria Flynn, and others A It’s our gas tax funds about to be spent. The state has approved spending nearly $975 million from the 12-cent a gallon tax that kicks in on Nov. 1 to speed up work on nearly 50 projects across California. The $5.7 million job will resurface five miles of Highway 85 from 101 to 87 in San Jose, the first paving job in Santa Clara County to get these new funds. Q We were on Highway 17 and a firetruck came up from behind us. I told our driver to hug left in the fast lane so cars in the slow lane could hug right and open a path for the emergency vehicle in the middle.
A lot of cars in both lanes dove for the right shoulder. Some of us stayed left, so the truck ended up weaving from lane to lane around the stopped cars. Should we all have scooted right to the next lane or even the shoulder? — Joe Eugene, Santa Cruz A Go to the right, though on a narrow road like
17 with limited or no shoulders that is not easy to do. Emergency drivers on 17 are used to drivers veering left and right to make room for them. Q If you are waiting for Southern Pacific to clean up the graffiti on train overpasses on Interstate 880 as you wrote on Wednesday, well, that train will never reach the station. Southern Pacific was acquired by Union Pacific many years ago.
Now we know why you are not known as Mr. Railshow. — Bill Anderson, Lodi A I deserve that slap for this and for …
Q
I’m not sure I understand the requirement for getting from BART to Santa Clara Street in six seconds in an emergency in the tunnel. To get from the 19th Street station in Oakland to the surface clearly takes way more than six seconds. — David Schwan A It’s six minutes to get to a safe zone.
Q
They just restripped Morrill Avenue in San Jose. Starting at Morrill and Cropley avenues you see two lanes. Traffic smoothly passes Morrill Middle School then as you approach Capewood Lane the left lane has a sign that says “left turn only” with no warning.
I now use only the right lane but every day I see cars swerving to avoid being forced to turn left. — Jeff Hack, San Jose A Later this month crews will install “Through Traffic Merge Right” and “Left Lane Turns Left Ahead” signs.”
Q
On Coleman Avenue between Costco and Avaya Stadium, a sign says the roadwork will be done by Aug. 30. It isn’t. Any ideas on the real date? — Anonymous A Mid-November.