Pacheco Pass Highway from Gilroy to the Don Pacheco Y is a
bloody disgrace to the state of California. Where are our
leaders?
An open letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger:
If you’re man enough, a serious challenge awaits you just south of Gilroy. We invite you to travel from Gilroy to I-5 via Highway 152’s notorious Pacheco Pass.
To fully appreciate this daunting task, you must attempt it on a getaway Friday. The Friday before Christmas, Dec. 22, ought to be a real nightmare.
We’re certain a man of your pride and strength wouldn’t want any less than the toughest challenge.
If you’re man enough to accept, you’ll experience a dangerous two-lane highway that winds its way through the foothills that separate Silicon Valley from the Central Valley.
This is not a trivial challenge. It is not for the weak of will or those lacking political clout.
An average of 30,000 cars a day travel on this treacherous stretch of road, many more than that on holiday weekends. Backups can last for hours. But that’s not the worst of it.
Just last year, nine people died on Pacheco Pass’s twisting two lanes. Three people died there just last weekend. The accident rate on Pacheco Pass is 58 percent higher than the accident rate on similar two-lane highways.
South Santa Clara County and San Benito County residents have been waiting for some 30 years for someone to fix this road. But so far, no one has been man enough to do the job.
Certainly our legislators – John Laird, Anna Caballero – our aware of the absolute mess this two-lane road has become. That the state sits idly by twiddling its collective thumbs while ignoring this major deadly artery of commerce and commuters between Silicon Valley and the Central Valley is a travesty.
A flyover is planned for the intersection of Highways 152 and 156, which will apply a nice little Band-Aid on a deep, gushing wound.
What is really needed – and has been needed for decades – is a straight and wide 13 miles of highway between Gilroy and the Don Pacheco Y at that intersection.
The price we pay in blood – and it is a steep and horrific price to be sure – is not the only price we pay for tolerating this dangerous two-lane death trap.
We also pay a hefty toll in lost time, productivity, energy and increased pollution.
Solving the Pacheco Pass death trap will address pubic safety, commerce and environmental issues.
Surely this is a challenge you will accept. Surely you can be the advocate who finally gets this highway fixed.
Don’t be a girlie man. Drive the Pacheco Pass next Friday afternoon. Understand the challenge. Then put your considerable political muscle behind fixing it.
