That new work project already has your blood pressure sky-high
as you run to the parking lot, hoping to make it onto the highway
before the rest of Silicon Valley commuters do.
That new work project already has your blood pressure sky-high as you run to the parking lot, hoping to make it onto the highway before the rest of Silicon Valley commuters do.
But as you leave the lot, they’re already there as you jolt your way to the highway entrance and enter U.S. 101. You fight your way to the left, punching your car into an impossibly tight gap between the whizzing headlights in order to maneuver around the mass of brake lights merging from Capitol Expressway at about 5 mph.
But the acres of houses and sound walls begin to thin out – and soon you’ll be home-free in the rolling hills of South Valley right?
Wrong!
Just as you pass that last-chance Bernal Road exit, you crest the summit and – bingo! – a wall of brake lights greets you as four lanes’ worth of commuters try to merge into two.
You slow to a crawl; vie for position against the tank-like sport-utility vehicle that’s merging from the left and won’t back down. In fact, you’ll be hemmed in like this for the next 10 miles to Morgan Hill, tied into the long ribbon of traffic with no chance to exit – and little hope of even passing the 18-wheeler trundling along at 40 mph in front of you.
Aaaaaargh!
But soon enough, transportation officials say the stress that comes in the last – or first – few miles of that daily commute for south Santa Clara County residents with jobs in this region will be a thing of the past.
When work to widen U.S. 101 in the roughly nine-mile stretch between Bernal Road in San Jose and Cochrane Road in Morgan Hill is completed this spring, it will save two-way, peak-hour commuters an estimated 21 minutes a day in the car on average.
Morning northbound drivers headed for San Jose will save an average of nine minutes.
Meanwhile, those commuters used to a similar ordeal headed for the South Valley and beyond in the afternoons will see their commutes reduced by an average of 12 minutes.
During the course of the average work year, that adds up to about 6,800 minutes – or 113 hours – of time saved in the car: hours that could be spent in more productive pursuits such as helping Johnny with his math homework, relaxing with ESPN “Sports Center” or “Antiques Roadshow” or spending some, “quality time” with your significant other.
And that’s not just 20 old anytime minutes: it’s 20 minutes of otherwise almost solid stress and frustration. Average speeds are estimated to increase from 28-35 mph to 65 mph.
“I just got out of work and got on the 101, and I’m bumper-to-bumper here,” said Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage, who commutes to work in San Jose, via cellular phone during a recent evening return trip. “If I had all these lanes opened up and could get home in a reasonable amount of time, it would take the stress off me.”
The original construction target date to complete the widening was this fall, but the main portion of the project came in millions less than budgeted estimates, allowing Valley Tranportation Authority officials to dedicate extra funds to contractors to speed up the work. Together, VTA officials said the two projects will cost about $120 million, the majority coming from Measure B, the half-cent sales tax approved by Santa Clara County voters in 1996.
Meanwhile, carpoolers will eventually be able to enjoy nearly 40 miles of merge-free driving to Redwood City – one of the longest stretches in the state – thanks to a new interchange project where U.S. 101 meets Highway 85. When completed in 2004, that project will add separate, dedicated connectors for carpoolers between the two highways.
For many, the new lanes won’t come a minute too soon.
Susan Valenta, executive director of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce, said she met one couple who bought a home in Gilroy but don’t live in it because of the traffic. Facing the dreaded bottleneck, they rent the house and pay rent on another house in the North Bay until the U.S. 101 widening is complete.
“They bought a home and were excited about moving,” Valenta said. “They think it’s a lovely community, but could not afford the time to commute.”
Not everyone has taken such drastic steps, but they’re still looking forward to the change.
Mary Ludwick has commuted to Cupertino and north San Jose since she moved to south Santa Clara County a decade ago. Going to work on, say, a Saturday morning takes about 40 minutes, but during peak commute hours, she allows herself up to 90 minutes to two hours each way. If it doesn’t take that long, she spends the extra time chatting with coworkers or waiting for meetings.
“It’s a big sink on my time,” she said.
While Ludwick admitted she likes the hustle and bustle of the mornings, she wishes her commute time wasn’t so dependent on traffic “choke points” like the Cochrane Road merge. She dreads the afternoon drive, however.
“This is the worst part, because I’m usually on my way to pick up kids from day care or preschool, so I really have to allow lots of time,” she said. “When I cut it close, I’m tense all the way home until I get to the pickup point.”
She used to listen to books on tape in order to manage the drive, but now she listens to radio news to learn about accidents that could ruin her schedule. The back-up is bad enough that Ludwick said she celebrates when she hits a “traffic seam” with little congestion – she and passengers raise their arms as if descending the big drop on a roller coaster.
“It’s sad that it’s that exhilarating, but it is,” she said.
Ludwick hopes the wider highway makes the commute more predictable.
“Today, you really don’t know how bad the Cochrane pass will be until you’re there,” she said.
Morgan Hill resident Ava Geddes usually takes Caltrain or carpools to work in Mountain View to avoid the congestion hassle. But when she doesn’t have that opportunity, she leaves home as early as 5 a.m. – and work around 2:30 p.m. – in order to avoid the congestion.
“You definitely have to plan ahead more, get going quicker in the morning, get things done at work, leave promptly to avoid delays and get a carpool partner if at all possible,” she said.
The widening should also help relieve congestion on Morgan Hill city streets, said Morgan Hill Mayor Dennis Kennedy, who served on the VTA board with Gage. Morgan Hill has been heavily impacted by motorists trying to avoid the bottleneck, he said.
“It should get lot of angry drivers off local streets and allow them to get where they want to go safely and without a lot of anger and frustration,” he said.
Time is also money, as the old saying goes, and probably no one knows the direct truth of that statement more than truck drivers. And the truckers who have to make the run between San Jose and Morgan Hill are salivating about the new lanes.
“Many people use that route to commute to work, but for us, the route is our work. It’s our workplace,” said Jim Calvino, operations manager at Trans Valley Transport and director of the California Trucking Association’s regional unit.
TVT trucks sometimes make up to 100 trips a day through the congested U.S. 101-to-San Jose corridor when hauling to and from agricultural customers in South Valley, Calvino said. Passing through during commute hours can be “terrible,” he said, and even non-commute times are “marginal.”
And hardly a day goes by that drivers don’t pass the aftermath of a rear-ender or mishap, he said.
“It’s not only time-consuming, but it’s definitely unsafe,” he said. “We definitely view this as a giant step forward, and one that’s long overdue.”
However, not everyone is confident about the benefits.
Transit advocates say the wider, more convenient highway is likely to promote driving – and not Caltrain commuter rail, which they say is friendlier on the environment and the nerves than even a wide, free-flowing highway.
“Any time you make it easier for people to drive and take less time to drive, it will surely encourage more people to start driving than taking the train,” said Margaret Okuzumi, executive director of the transit advocacy group BayRail Alliance.
South Valley residents don’t necessarily want a faster car commute, Okuzumi said. But the VTA hasn’t put much in the way of resources into transit service in the area besides a revamped Gilroy station – a project she said is nice, but in the end does not provide more transit seats.
“I think a lot of people would like more convenient train service, where they don’t have to drive at all,” she said. “They can relax on the train and get to work, rather than dealing with all of the crazy drivers out there.”
Geddes expects the widening will reduce some delay, but still expects traffic jams. She encourages commuters to use the train.
Although it may take longer, it’s cheaper, less stressful, lessens the wear-and-tear on the car and actually allows her to finish work assignments, read the paper or do other projects.
“These are things I couldn’t do if I drove, so I’d need to do them in the evening,” she said. “Now, once I’m home I can concentrate on my family or just relax.”
