Study session with council, planning commissioners will focus on
road widening and bridge relocation proposals
Gilroy – City council members and planning commissioners will comb through detailed plans Monday night of a road widening and bridge relocation project along Hecker Pass Highway, the city’s scenic western gateway.
Both plans pose a threat to the historic Deodara Cedar trees that line the roadway leading into the Santa Cruz Ridgeline.
The 6pm study session takes place at City Hall and will focus largely on road widening proposals for Hecker Pass, roughly from the Uvas Creek bridge to Santa Teresa Boulevard.
The widening is necessary to clear the way for hundreds of new homes atop hillsides and behind swaths of farmland. A task force that crafted development guidelines for the area assumed the road could remain two lanes, but some council members remain skeptical.
Councilman Russ Valiquette has insisted that the road widening be planned in concert with the relocation of the Uvas Creek bridge, a project initiated by state transportation officials who say the existing structure has deteriorated. State officials have proposed relocating the Uvas Creek bridge either to the north or south. Both plans entail shifting the roadway leading up to the road, and Valiquette insists that such roadwork should parlay with the widening project.
Study Session
– What: Study session to discuss widening of Highway 152 and bridge relocation projects.
– When: Monday, 6pm
– Where: City Council chambers, City Hall, 7351 Rosanna St.
