It's been identified as one of the most congested traffic corridors in the nation: a section of Highway 101 between San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
But a three-year, $513-million express lane project that promises to bring some relief has just gotten underway.
According to Caltrans, the new express lanes “will connect to existing carpool lanes at Whipple Avenue, which will then be converted into express lanes themselves, creating new continuous express lanes from I-380 in San Bruno to San Antonio Road in Palo Alto.”
A bevy of state and local lawmakers, who helped make the project a reality, were on hand for the groundbreaking at the Park and Ride Parking lot in San Mateo.
“It will make a difference and we will feel it in our communities and constituents will be so happy when they can get home at a decent hour and spend time with their families,” state Sen. Jerry Hill, (D-San Mateo) said.
Drivers will pay a toll to enter the express lanes, which have previously been reserved for carpool vehicles. Express lanes are in place in other areas already and some complain that they will alleviate traffic only for wealthy drivers able to pay the extra fees.
An intricate series of sensors will be built into the express lane in both directions to facilitate traffic flow.
“It’s all technology. It’s a lot of traffic monitoring,” Doanh Nguyen, acting director of Caltrans District 4, said. “It’s a lot of adjustments along the corridor.”
This corridor sees two million drivers each week.
The project is slated to be complete in 2022.
