Campaign update: surface quality on Highway 35/Skyline Boulevard

SVBC met with Caltrans District 4 representatives in August to discuss the ongoing problem of surface quality on Highway 35 following a chip seal maintenance job on that route in Fall 2012. Now, two years after the initial problem, we can report a campaign success with Caltrans District 4 agreeing to apply sand seal on the road in summer 2015, which is the same fix that District 5 is employing down on Highway 1 in San Luis Obispo County. While we urged them to move sooner on this problem, the project is based on funding in next year’s state budget.We also asked for more communication channels to keep us updated on future projects coming through the pipeline and to see if we could get a 5/16" chip seal aggregate standard for roads with heavy bicycle use, which is what San Mateo County and Santa Clara County already have.Thanks to the many letters written by you, our dear members, and dedicated work from super-volunteer Bruce Hildenbrand, this debacle is finally seeing some closure. The letters resulted in a site visit with officials to see the problem in person, the repair of over 150 potholes that existed prior to the maintenance by Caltrans in Fall 2013, and a report by the UC Davis Pavement Research Center that found that Highway 35 has higher than average vibration values leading to lower than average bicyclist acceptability and ride quality. Your letters and this report were instrumental in igniting Caltrans to take action to address the surface quality of the road. We can’t wait to ride the new surface next summer!