“I am writing about a rough pothole-like road problem on Masten Avenue heading toward Santa Teresa Boulevard, just before crossing through Monterey Highway. There is a large, uneven, rough surface with sharp edges along the railway tracks. This is a frequently traveled surface and I can only assume how much damage the area is causing to cars that travel on it regularly – like myself. Can you find out how this nuisance can be fixed? I contacted Caltrans and they said it’s not their problem. Thanks.”
Red Phone: Dear Rough Ride, Red Phone forwarded your concern to the Santa Clara roads maintenance department, who forwarded your request on to Union Pacific Railroad, the organization responsible for maintenance near the tracks.
As a result of your concern, Union Pacific will be working on that area this week during its regular maintenance of the tracks.
There are three areas that are scheduled to be closed as the work proceeds:
– Church Avenue – from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Wednesday.
– Rucker Avenue – from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday.
– Masten Ave – from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday.
Union Pacific has been replacing the older Asphalt Concrete (AC) with new Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) to improve the vehicle traffic along the lines, said Roberto Salinas, a Santa Clara County traffic and field engineer. In addition, they are performing any required adjusting of the rail heights due to the tracks settling over time. he said.
On Masten and Church avenues, the railroad will just be replacing the old panels. But on Rucker Avenue, they will pull the existing PCC panels, surface the tracks to raise them about 1.5 inches and re-install the PCC panels, Salinas said.
Hope that helps, good caller.
More on potholes
“I had a concern about the last block of Forest Street right before the Orchard Supply Store. I’ve noticed they have filled some potholes there, which is wonderful. The thing that I am concerned about is that they only filled up half the potholes. I am happy a street on the east side of town had its potholes fixed, but I was wondering why it was only partially done.”
Red Phone: Dear Stuck In A Rut, Red Phone also received a similar call from a person concerned about a pothole that was still on Buena Vista Avenue while turning onto Monterey Road. The city tries to take a look at these and fill them as time and money permit, said Todd Barreras, operations services supervisor for the City of Gilroy.
“During rains we use a temporary patch mix, which is very expensive,” he said. “We go for the large more hazardous potholes. We wait the weather clears and the areas dry out and address the potholes with hot mix for a more lasting repair. Unfortunately, with budget cuts and heavy rains this year, our roads are taking a beating.”
You can report a pothole that needs repair by calling 846-0460.
