VTA holds groundbreaking ceremony for Hwy 101/25 interchange project

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State and local officials participated in a ground-breaking ceremony for the Hwy 101/25 Interchange Improvement Project on the morning of May 23 amid ongoing construction. Joining a myriad of officials representing Morgan Hill, Gilroy and Santa Clara County was San Benito County Supervisor Ignacio Velazquez. 

During the ceremony, which was held by the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), Velasquez said the project was important to the community and was made possible because of the collaboration between various different agencies.

“In San Benito County we knew it as the death lane,” he said—trying to exit the 101 to 25 on the shoulder as trucks are racing by at 65 miles per hour. We [were] all scared and we knew we needed a solution.”

He was referring to motorists using the shoulder as an unofficial lane during peak hours to get onto southbound Hwy 25 onramp, where the line of cars can span over three-quarters of a mile.

Among those in attendance were Hollister Mayor Roxanne Stephens, California Transportation Commissioner and former San Benito County Supervisor Bob Tiffany, and Council of San Benito County Governments Executive Director Binu Abraham.

The ongoing construction for phase 1 of the project began in April and is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.

The project consists of two phases. Phase 1, with an estimated cost of $136 million, involves constructing a new four-lane bridge just north of the existing one, extending the on/off ramps and adding two traffic signals. It also includes the construction of a separate two-way bike lane between Castro Valley Road and the Hwy 101/25 interchange. 

Santa Clara County’s Measure B will fund $77 million of the project and Senate Bill 1, California’s Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, will fund $59 million. 

VTA has said all detours will be implemented during overnight work and weekends. A pamphlet provided at the event reports that work requiring lane or ramp closures will be done during non-peak-commute hours. 

Sometime in the process, motorists on Hwy 25 connecting to southbound Hwy 101 will be directed to take northbound Hwy 101 to Monterey Road, where they can access the southbound ramp.

According to the VTA website, the Hwy 101/25 interchange is more than 30 years old and cannot accommodate current traffic demands, which include commuters, commercial and recreational traffic. 

“These conditions, coupled with high travel speeds, have resulted in higher-than-average accident rates in the interchange area, and traffic backups onto southbound US 101,” the website states.

Phase 2 of the project has an estimated cost of $35 million and includes connecting Hwy 25 to Santa Teresa Boulevard. Construction is expected to take place between 2027 and 2029. No funding for this work has been approved.

The 101/25 interchange is part of a larger project to widen Hwy 101 from four to six lanes between Monterey Road and Hwy 129, build a bridge on Hwy 25 over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks, construct a flood bridge west of the tracks and install pedestrian and bike connections. 

The public can subscribe to receive project information from VTA at the project’s website here.

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