Long-awaited fixes approved on highways 101 and 87 exchange

Q

We really need a fix at the Highway 101 connection to Highway 87, which you have discussed for many, many years.

— Jon Saltonstall, Brandon Durbin,

Joe Picone, Bill Adler and so many more

A

Good news at last. The California Transportation Commission last week approved $25 million to rebuild the Trimble-Highway 101 to south 87 interchange. That makes the

$70 million job completely funded and construction could begin in another year or so.

This will widen De La Cruz/ Trimble Road to six lanes through the interchange, reconstruct the southbound exit loop to a partial cloverleaf and make it possible to turn south to Highway 87 from the far two right lanes instead of just the farthest right one.

Q

Any update on turning Highway 156 into an expressway from 101 to Monterey? I haven’t heard anything in some time.

— Pat Crippes, Gilroy

A

More good news from the Transportation Commission. It has approved $20 million for the $29.5 million Highway 156/Castroville Boulevard Interchange with work beginning next year. This will eventually result in a new four-lane expressway running parallel to the existing route, which would become a frontage road.

The new funding is part of the overall $380 million Highway 156 improvement plan, which includes a proposed $75 million fourlane expressway between the new Castroville Boulevard interchange and Highway 101 in Prunedale, and a $250 million interchange at Highways 156 and 101, the Monterey Herald reported.

Q

I realize the light traffic from the pandemic has eased many of our congestion problems, but what about when people return to their workplaces? In particular, the Apple spaceship off Interstate 280 at Wolfe Road in Cupertino could lead to backups for many hours a day after the pandemic.

What if anything is

planned for dealing with this?

— Phil Conlon, Redwood City

A

You can find out Wednesday when Caltrans, the Valley Transportation Authority and the city hold a Zoom meeting to go over the final design for the $90 million project that could be under construction in 2023.

It will widen the Wolfe Road bridge over I-280, construct new ramps, modify nearby city streets and upgrade bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Go to www.vta. org/280wolfe for more details.

Q

Page Mill Road in Palo Alto needs some repaving. Any chance of this happening anytime soon?

— Lisa Miller,

Palo Alto

A

Yes. Next year a 5-mile stretch will get high friction pavement, wider turn lanes and guardrails.