Highway 17 scheduled for repairs, but patience needed
QCan you explain why the repaving repairs on Highway 17 in Santa Cruz County are done so well and completely and the patching on the Santa Clara County side of Summit Road is so pathetic and irresponsible? Driving 17 between Los Gatos and Summit is like driving on a washboard. What’s up with that? Why the neglect?
I’ve needed repairs to my car that are a direct result of the constant bumping and grinding driving this stretch of 17. It’s all Caltrans, isn’t it?
AYes, but there are two bosses. The Santa Cruz County side falls under Caltrans’ District 5, which stretches from Santa Cruz to Santa Barbara and sets its own paving priorities. The Santa Clara County side is under control of District 4, which covers the nine Bay Area counties from the South Bay to the East Bay and into wine country and sets its paving priorities.
That said, soon Caltrans will be making more pavement repairs from Lexington Reservoir to Interstate 280. Next year the state will repave Highway 17 from Santa’s Village in Scotts Valley to the Summit and in 2020, the stretch from Highway 9 to Bear Creek Road will get new asphalt.
QI’ve written to you about this before as it’s become a pet peeve for me, but it appears that the Bay Area housing crisis will be solved before San Mateo County finally completes the Crystal Springs Dam Road bridge over the dam.
This project first started in 2003 for dam improvements, and has been repeatedly delayed countless times since. The latest projection is “through 2018,” after the last promise of early 2018 was not met. The SFPUC completed its work on the dam in 2012, allowing at least five years for construction of the bridge since.
By contrast, Caltrans built the eastern span of the Bay Bridge in nine years, and replaced the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge bridge in Big Sur in seven months. Freeway overpasses have been rebuilt in a span of months after major earthquakes.
This is a concrete bridge a little over a tenth of a mile long. You’ve offered that multiple agencies are involved, including PG&E. By almost every reasonable standard, it is a ridiculous outcome.
AIt indeed has been a long wait, but remember the rain of the past years slowed everything. Work should wrap up by the end of the year (we hope).
QSaw this on Facebook. We need these signs on our freeways and roads:
Why are you littering?
• I’m stupid.
• I don’t care about my city.
• Mummy still cleans up after me.
• All of the above.
AThanks for the laugh. Join Gary Richards for an hourlong chat noon Wednesday at www. mercurynews.com/livechats. Follow Gary at Twitter.com/mrroadshow, look for him at Facebook. com/mr.roadshow. Contact Gary Richards at mrroadshow@ bayareanewsgroup.com or 408-920-5037.