The twisting, two-lane, nightmare that is Highway 152 could
straighten itself out now that county officials have officially
declared it a top transportation priority.
The twisting, two-lane, nightmare that is Highway 152 could straighten itself out now that county officials have officially declared it a top transportation priority.
Highway 152, a main artery connecting Interstate 5 and U.S. 101, funnels hundreds of trucks through Gilroy every day. The route became popular during the California Gold Rush, and has earned the nickname “Blood Alley” for being one of the most dangerous routes in the Bay Area.
“It’s an old design that doesn’t work very well anymore,” Gilroy City Councilman Dion Bracco said.
San Benito County Supervisors recently approved a resolution urging state officials to designate a Highway 152 bypass “alignment that begins at a point near the San Felipe Road/Highway 152 intersection and continues in Santa Clara County to a point near the Pajaro River or Bloomfield Road on Highway 25 where it enters San Benito County,” providing truckers with a straighter shot to U.S. 101., and to have the project done in less than 10 years. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and cities of Gilroy, Hollister and San Juan Bautista plan to follow suit, Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage said.
According to the resolution, Highway 152 is the best connector of the coastal regions of Northern California and the San Joaquin Valley and improvements to the highway should be one of the “highest transportation projects.” The pass is the most heavily traveled truck route in the state, Gage said.
“The amount of traffic this road carries is amazing,” said Pat Midtgaard who has to merge into heavy traffic every time she pulls out of her driveway.
Skeptical that she’d see the finished product in her lifetime – she remembered attending more than half a dozen meetings on the bypass since she moved to Highway 152 in the 1970s – she was encouraged that officials are making it a priority.
Officials are tossing around several different alignments that could position the bypass closer to downtown Hollister, but the northern route makes the most sense, Gage said. The other two options would be more expensive, requiring longer sections of Highway 25 to be expanded to accommodate heavier traffic.
Selecting the preferred route will set the project’s wheels in motion, Gage said. The SCC supervisors will officially adopt the resolution sometime in October.
With a route selected, county and city officials are anxious to get started.
“Let’s push it ahead,” said San Benito County Supervisor Reb Monaco. “Let’s move on it.”
Several stoplights impede the flow of traffic as trucks filter through Gilroy on 10th Street and merge onto U.S. 101 and traffic jams are not uncommon.
Gage said the four- to six-lane freeway is a project that has been in the works for a long time and is pleased to see a significant part fall into place.
“It’s the final piece of the puzzle to bring traffic from the other valley to over here,” he said. “It’s a good thing.”
