Highway 101 at Willow Road to be slow drive for six months

QWhat the hell is going on at the Willow Road overpass at Highway 101 in Menlo Park? Caltrans has really screwed it up. Last Wednesday it took over an hour to go from Middlefield Road to that overpass. At times we did not move for seven minutes. — Bob Gray, Hayward

ACaltrans has reconfigured the interchange from a full cloverleaf to a half cloverleaf. The new, temporary alignment will be in place for six months, but allow extra time as the new ramps have tighter turns and many of the connections that were once free-flow now have signals.

The rerouting of traffic is needed to create space for crews to build the next phase. Work is expected to wrap up on the $70 million interchange in another year.

QLast winter part of Skyline Road — Highway 35 — washed out. Since then for a few hundred people the only way to our homes is to either go up and down Black Road or continue south on the extremely narrow, twisty and dangerous part of Skyline known as the Goat Trail.

The Goat Trail has been closed for its own repairs, leaving us with only one way in and out: Black Road. However, now the powers that be want to close Black Road during the day. We think this is unsafe and crazy, and I wonder if with your connections into the various road maintenance organizations you could help us out. — Bruce Whittaker, Las Cumbres

AYou will get a little relief. County engineers have shortened the closure on Black Road from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. instead of 5 p.m. the rest of this week as first planned. Said Khoa-the-Traffic-Engineer:

“Unfortunately, we are at a point where the road has to be closed to fix the pavement and drainage. The road is not wide enough to safely allow vehicles to go through the construction zone at this stage of construction. … We’re moving expeditiously to reopen one lane as soon as we can to alleviate traffic concerns.”

QWhy is Central Avenue in the Los Gatos hills being extended through the property at the end of that street, and into the Novitiate? It’s been going on for several months and now looks finished except for paving. — Dick Gaskill, Los Gatos

AThere will be an unpaved gated road at this location to provide for emergency access should it be needed.

QWhen will lane lines be painted on Lawrence Expressway? The road has been resurfaced but there are still no lanes painted. It’s a free-for-all out there. — Mary West, Los Gatos

ASoon, maybe in another week if rains hold off.