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Seeking $10 million in funding for the state’s New Trade Corridor project, which would shift traffic from Hwy 152 between Gilroy and Pacheco Pass to Hwy 25 and a proposed new roadway through farm fields to Hwy 156, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors will consider a letter of support on Feb. 10.
The New Trade Corridor, under the San Benito County & Santa Clara County Mobility Partnership and spearheaded by the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), will realign the roadway between Highways 101 and 156, and construct an eastbound truck climbing lane over Pacheco Pass.
According to a presentation included in the agenda, VTA will request $9 million from the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program and match it with its own $1 million of spending.
The project’s early cost estimate was $540 million, according to the Feb. 16 Council of San Benito County Government’s meeting agenda. COG serves as the county’s regional transportation agency.
The proposed project would replace Hwy 152 as the main route for trucks and connect to Hwy 25 instead. The corridor aims to improve the movement of goods between the Central Valley and Central Coast regions, improve commuter routes between the Central Valley and workplaces in the San Francisco and Monterey Bay areas, and improve regional and recreational travel, according to project documents.
According to the supervisors’ agenda, the VTA is seeking the letter of support as part of its BUILD grant program to fund preliminary engineering, environmental analysis and a traffic and revenue study.
“The project will advance through the Project Approval and Environmental Documentation phase, which includes environmental review and preliminary engineering necessary for future construction,” the staff report states.
It adds the project’s purpose is to improve circulation by reducing travel time, enhance regional connectivity and goods movement and support economic development in the area identified for the new route.
In 2020, the mobility partnership, a board made up of elected officials from various jurisdictions in San Benito and Santa Clara counties, studied two alignments that are near Shore Road.
According to the project’s fact sheet included in the agenda, VTA completed a preliminary traffic and revenue study in 2010 and a study report in 2015.
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