Gilroy
– Ongoing roadwork will force a temporary shutdown next week of
an eastern portion of Longmeadow Drive, according to City Traffic
Inspector Steve Beams.
Gilroy – Ongoing roadwork will force a temporary shutdown next week of an eastern portion of Longmeadow Drive, according to City Traffic Inspector Steve Beams.
The roadwork, expected to last from May 31 to June 14, will require closing Longmeadow between Santa Teresa Boulevard and Hirasaki Drive. Beams said the closure is necessary to install underground utilities and lay new road surface on the eastern half of the intersection.
Motorists who use Longmeadow to reach Hirasaki will have to use Mantelli Drive as an alternate, Beams said. The city plans to put up signs marking the southern detour.
City staff opted for a complete shutdown during this latest phase of the Santa Teresa widening project after experiencing headaches earlier in the year during upgrades to the western side of the Welburn Avenue intersection.
“There were a lot of unforeseen site and soil conditions, as well as weather conditions,” Beams said. “We’d close it, then open it, then close it. It was really confusing to motorists.
This time around, a lot of residents and motorists requested “the worst case scenario,” said Beams, who hopes the work will be finished sooner than two weeks.
The next closure will occur in several weeks to complete the eastern side of the Welburn Avenue intersection.
“We’re spending a lot of time on the detour plan for that to not confuse motorists,” Beams said. “There’s really no easy way to detour that. Obviously we don’t want people to travel through right hand turns, left hand turns, and get people confused.”
City staff are leaning toward using Kern Avenue, off First Street, as an alternate route during construction.
“It’s still in the works,” Beams said. “We’ll let you know in a week and a half when we’re getting ready to open Longmeadow up.”
