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Commuters and residents of San Benito County who regularly use the entrance/exit to Hwy 156 at Union Road and have been concerned about the upcoming seven-month closure of that intersection by Caltrans might be getting some welcome news at the upcoming meeting of the Council of San Benito County Governments (COG).
According to a staff report prepared by COG Transportation Planning Manager Veronica Lezama and included in the agenda of the upcoming meeting, Caltrans worked with contractor Teichert Construction to find a way to shorten the closure to only eight weeks, weather permitting, following a review of construction plans requested by COG at its meeting in October.
The closure, expected to start sometime after thanksgiving (Nov. 23), is necessary to allow the reconstruction of approximately 800 feet of Union Road that leads to the intersection, raising it six feet to meet with the new eastbound lane of 156. While this construction is underway, all traffic that would have flowed through the intersection will be rerouted onto San Juan Hollister Road.
While the construction plans cannot be altered, the contractors and subcontractors will extend their hours to expedite the work, adding approximately $400,000 to the cost of the project. The fund will come out of the project’s contingency budget.
The staff report will be presented to COG at the Nov. 16 meeting at 4 p.m. in the County Board of Supervisors Chambers at 481 Fourth Street, Hollister. The public can also attend by logging on to a Zoom webinar—meeting ID 832‐6188‐0573, passcode 231284.
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