Initial construction scheduled to begin in July, with completion
of the project slated for October 2008
Gilroy – Officials are inching forward on a bridge project that will provide a direct route between the Gilroy Premium Outlets and the big box stores off Highway 152.
In April, the city will start seeking bids from contractors to perform the first phase of work on a four-lane bridge that will span Llagas Creek and connect the two shopping areas in east Gilroy. The first phase will involve grading the soil for an extension of Camino Arroyo on the north and south side of the creek, as well as traffic calming improvements along Sixth Street west of the project.
The Sixth Street overpass is now used by local shoppers as a southerly entrance to the outlets and by farmers and ranchers heading into town from the east.
Shoppers traveling to the Pacheco Pass or Gilroy Crossing shopping centers off 152 typically use Highway 101 to move between the commercial hubs.
“(The bridge) will provide a connection between the retail area along 152 and the outlets and medical facilities along Arroyo Circle,” City Transportation Engineer Don Dey said. “To get from point A to point B, people won’t have to go out on the freeway to make the connection. That simplifies the circulation in our retail area in east Gilroy.”
It also means street improvements to calm expected increases in traffic along the Sixth Street corridor. In addition to preparation work for the bridge, officials will install traffic lights, extend curbs and perform other safety upgrades along Sixth Street west of the overpass.
While some are concerned about increased traffic along Sixth Street, traffic studies suggest the direct link will help reduce traffic by 10 percent at the notoriously congested interchange of highways 101 and 152, which connects shoppers to the Wal-Mart Supercenter and other nearby big box retailers.
Construction on the first phase of the bridge, estimated to cost $3 million, will begin in July and wrap up by November, Dey said. That phase will lay the groundwork for the roughly $6 million bridge itself, which is scheduled for construction between March and October 2008.
