Increased Hwy 25 semi-truck traffic to continue into August

This article was written by BenitoLink intern Meghan Lee. Lea este artículo en español aquí.

Anyone traveling along Hwy 25 these days has almost certainly noticed a large number of big trucks lumbering through Hollister. That’s because between 70 and 80 Graniterock trucks have been traveling on the highway that cuts through town each day. The increased traffic will continue on most days between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. into August, according to a company official.

The increased semi-truck traffic is part of a Santa Clara Valley Water project bringing dirt from Morgan Hill to fill in Graniterock’s southside sand and gravel quarry. Graniterock has the contract with Valley Water to remove the dirt and use it for infill at their quarry. The project is intended to protect against flooding at Llagas Creek, which involves removing large amounts of dirt from the area for greater water capacity. It also involves removing invasive species in the area. 

Graniterock Director of Communications Shanna Crigger told BenitoLink the project will move about 700,000 yards of dirt to the quarry.  

“Imagine filling an entire football stadium from end zone to end zone and doing that seven times,” Crigger explained.

The dirt will be used for reclamation work at the Southside Quarry. Once quarries have ended their useful life, the company managing them is responsible for restoring the land. Graniterock is certifying that the dirt from Llagas creek is clean dirt, meaning it can be used for reclamation projects. 

“When it’s certified clean dirt, it goes through a pretty rigorous testing process to determine that it’s clean, and then that dirt can be used for parks,” Crigger said. “So you can put that dirt essentially back to good use, rather than having to throw it away.”

Crigger said Graniterock understands the community’s concerns about the increased traffic. She said the company has protocols in place to make sure the trucks cause as little disturbance as possible to residents and businesses. 

“We’re working with the Sheriff’s Department to kind of keep an eye on the trucking to make sure everybody’s following the rules,” she said. 

Editor’s note: This article was written in response to several BenitoLink readers who sent emails commenting on the heavy truck traffic and asking for more information.

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