Toll road near Highway 156 to Monterey won’t come cheap
Q Has there ever been any serious discussion of a San Jose-Watsonville freeway to ease traffic between the Santa Clara Valley and the coast? Possibly using as much as practical of the existing Highway 152 right of way to link Highways 101 and 1, but creating a modern straightened roadway with at least 3 lanes in each direction. Highways 17 and 152 are difficult drives and are not designed for the current much less future traffic volumes. An alternate route to the coast could also ease congestion on Highway 1 by balancing out traffic currently traversing through Santa Cruz. A pipe dream? — A.L. A The best bet is a toll road near Highway 156 leading to the Monterey Peninsula. This would be a massive $375 million-plus effort that would build a new four-lane expressway between Highway 1 near Castroville and Highway 101 in Prunedale. It’s not a pipe dream but the cost means this is many, many, many years away. Q People have asked for a re-opening of the rail tunnel to Santa Cruz for traffic. This makes sense to me, as it would alleviate traffic on Highway 17 and possibly bring more tourists to Santa Cruz. Have there been any estimates on what it would take to reopen the rail tunnel, or if not feasible to bore a new one? — Bill Shic, Los Altos A Now this is a pipe dream. A decade ago it cost $65 million to build a 12-foot high, curved half-mile tunnel on the east side of the Lexington Reservoir dam for a water project. Your idea might make the $375 million tag for a toll road near 156 seem like pocket change.
Q What sort of traffic will we see on Mother’s Day on Highway 101? I have a mom (age 87) and seven others coming to visit and want to plan ahead. They’ve never been to California and are very excited. San Francisco closed the Golden Gate Bridge parking lot last year, so the city is out. I’d like to take them to Monterey for a special dinner going down 101. — Chris Meredit, Sunnyvale A It’s so hard to predict, just allow plenty of time. Here’s what also you can do. Call the restaurant and ask them what traffic might be like. And that day check HTTP://
CAD.CHP.CA.GOV and HTTP:// QUICKMAP.DOT.CA.GOV/ for latest traffic information. Q My wife’s birthday is Sunday. Because of an emergency, we had to reschedule her DMV appointment, and the soonest available was Monday. Will she have to take the driving test if she waits until then? — John Anto, Palo Alto A Happy birthday to Mrs. John. A driving test is not required if a driver license is expired and she wants to renew it.