GILROY
– Motorists using one of Gilroy’s largest thoroughfares will
soon have a smoother, and prettier, commute. However, the
responsibility of maintaining the wider and better-landscaped
version of an often pothole-divotted Santa Teresa Boulevard will
cost taxpayers upward of $20,000 a year more.
GILROY – Motorists using one of Gilroy’s largest thoroughfares will soon have a smoother, and prettier, commute. However, the responsibility of maintaining the wider and better-landscaped version of an often pothole-divotted Santa Teresa Boulevard will cost taxpayers upward of $20,000 a year more.
The City of Gilroy is just days away from putting the Santa Teresa Boulevard roadwork and landscaping project – which runs from First Street to Longmeadow Drive – out to bid. By April, city officials say construction to put two lanes on each side of the road, new soundwalls and a median decorated with flowering plants and trees will begin.
The construction project, barring something unforeseen, will not drain the city’s recession-deflated budget since it is being funded through development impact fees and a grant from the Valley Transportation Authority. However, Gilroy taxpayers will need to fund maintenance on the westside thoroughfare, something the county – the owner of the road – used to do entirely.
“It’s more than fair that we pay for the maintenance,” City Administrator Jay Baksa said. “The city is growing, and all around the road things are becoming more urbanized. We’re widening it. We’re putting more signals in. All of this is happening based on our general plan.”The county will pick up the maintenance costs related to the existing amount of roadway, city Traffic Engineer Kristi Abrams said. Maintenance on the widened part of the road will be funded by the city.
The cost of maintenance for all city streets in 2004-05 is projected to be $621,000. However, a budget hasn’t been set specifically for road maintenance along Santa Teresa Boulevard, said Carla Ruigh, the city’s operations services manager.
“Maintenance on a section of Santa Teresa (Boulevard) is just something that the city absorbs in its regular costs,” Ruigh said. “Of course the city may always add staff when the city grows.”
The immediate extra cost to the city will come from the new landscaping along Santa Teresa Boulevard. Ivy will crawl against the new soundwalls. Young oak and cedar trees and various flowering shrubs will line the road’s median. All of the species will need water and care.
“Once everything is more mature, it will be less of a problem,” Baksa said. “Right now, we’ve got to get them to grow.”
The city’s overall landscaping expenses are projected to increase by $282,000 from 2003-04 to 2004-05. The Santa Teresa project is only a fraction of that increase, Ruigh said. The increased costs are due to maintenance of the new community parks expected to come online this year, Ruigh said.
Between 2002-03 and 2003-04, landscaping maintenance costs went up by $100,000.
Ruigh could not produce hard numbers for the maintenance costs related to the Santa Teresa Boulevard median since she was out sick with the flu Monday. However, she confirmed from home that landscaping costs along Santa Teresa Boulevard will be at least $10,000 a year and “under $50,000 for sure” annually.
Ruigh’s best rough guess was the city would spend up to $20,000 next fiscal year to contract maintenance.
“That sounds like a solid estimate to me,” Baksa said.
City Councilman Roland Velasco, who drives along Santa Teresa Boulevard daily to take his son to school, said the extra cash drain is not a major concern for him.
“We’ll have to be careful what we do and budget things appropriately,” Velasco said. “But I’m confident our staff is taking everything into consideration.”
Velasco expressed the same confidence in city staff regarding the road construction plans. The road has been notorious for the potholes that develop, but the new design will prevent them for at least 20 years.
With the recent rains potholes have deepened noticeably for regular Santa Teresa drivers, including Velasco.
“I think the potholes get highlighted because as much as anything they fill up with water and become puddles,” Velasco said.
Abrams said a “chip” sealant will be laid atop a deeper than normal amount of asphalt. The asphalt will sit atop a supporting base.
“We believe the design will even keep the minor cracks (which eventually become potholes) from happening,” Abrams said.
