Why are so many South Bay freeway signs dark at night?
QHow can the state leave a downtown stretch of Interstate 280 in San Jose dark?
All lights are burnt out on I-280 from at least Highway 101 to Highway 87. There are too many to count.
Please tell me who is in charge and I’ll be at their office demanding they go sit on this highway every night until it’s fixed. Brian Schulman San Jose
AThe darkness continues on I-680.
QOver half of the lights on Interstate 680 between Highway 101 and Milpitas have been off at night for years. Sections are dangerously dark, especially when it rains. Matthew Hutchison San Jose
AAnd on the west side ...
QI missed the Saratoga Avenue off-ramp from north 280 one night because the light to illuminate the overhead sign was off. Can Caltrans install a new bulb? ... Street lamps along the southbound 280-Foothill Boulevard exit have been out for quite some time. Jill Smith, Margie Gong,
others left in the dark
ACaltrans will do much more than put in new bulbs, and drivers should love the result.
Workers have begun installing hundreds of new retro-reflective signs above Bay Area freeways that throw back the light from headlights of oncoming vehicles much better than the older green reflective signs.
(By the way, many of these older signs are dark now for a variety of reasons ranging from copper thieves to burned-out bulbs to state officials not wanting to spend additional money with new signs coming.)
All highways in the South Bay will be covered — 439 new signs are planned — starting with Highway 17 from Highway 9 to I-280 and Highway 85 from 101 to Middlefield Road.
Similar signs are going in at 164 locations on Interstate 80, I-580 and I-680 in Contra Costa County. Ditto 880 in Alameda County and 101 in San Mateo County.
I’ve passed along Roadshow readers’ requests that Caltrans illuminate the dark corridors first.
The move to retro-reflective signs follows tests on Interstate 80 in Sacramento where some drivers complained the new signs were almost too bright.
This new illumination will cost $10,000 per sign on average and should be ready by summer. Crews will also do lighting work on the ramps, closing them from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., but crews will never close two consecutive ramps.
To view a video, go to https://youtu.be/za_ thqHA92I or search for “Caltrans News Flash #60 – Retro-Reflective Signs Increase Safety, Reduce Costs.”
QAt Almaden Expressway to Branham Avenue, it’s somewhat ambiguous which lane on the other side of the intersection we are being pointed to. Some markings lead into lane No. 2, but there is also a dotted line between lanes No. 2 and No. 3 that guides the driver to the proper lane.
Multiple times I’ve had to avoid an oblivious driver who went directly across the intersection to lane No. 2.
The fix is simple; paint a dotted line guiding us where to go. Can you help? Randy Ollenburger San Jose
ASure can. The county will add additional pavement markings in the next three to four weeks.