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In San Benito County, road construction projects such as New Idria Road and Union Road are ongoing and expected to be completed this year.
County Public Works Administrator/Engineer Steve Loupe updated the San Benito County Board of Supervisors on nearly 20 road projects at the board’s April 30 meeting. He said New Idria Road, which saw heavy rain that caused a washout, will be completed by the end of May.
The washout repairs cost a total of $420,594. The Federal Emergency Management Agency covered $336,475 of the cost, while the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services covered $84,119, Loupe told BenitoLink.
“The compliment calls are a new thing,” said Supervisor Angela Curro in reference to calls from residents about the improvements on New Idria Road. “They’re so happy. They see a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Other road projects expected to be completed this year:
- Cienega Road: Hidden Valley Road to Mudstone Ranch
- Union Road to Hospital Road
- Carr Avenue: Anzar Road to Carpenteria Road
- Anzar Road: Cole Road to Forest Road and Cannon Road to San Juan Highway
County projects that will begin in summer/fall:
- Shore Road: Frazier Lake Road to Perry Court
- Perry Court to San Felipe Road
- Seely Avenue: Carpenteria Road to end of county maintained road
- Wright Road: Buena Vista Road to Hwy 25
- Fairview Road: Los Viboras Road to Acquistapace Road
- 100 feet south of Santa Ana Creek to Hillcrest Road
- Orchard Road to 500 feet north of Comstock Road
- McCloskey Road to 200 feet South of Santa Ana Creek
- Cole Road: South Ricardo to North Ricardo to Anzar Road
- Cienega Road: Mudstone Ranch to Bird Creek
- Adjacent to wineries (0.6 miles total length)
- San Juan Canyon Road: Salinas Road to 6.4 miles beyond Salinas Road
- San Juan Highway: Hwy 29 to Taylor Farms
- Prescott Road, San Justo Road, Duncan Road, Bixby Road, Freitas Road
Loupe said the county may see about $800,000 in unused Measure G funds that can be put toward road improvements. Measure G is a 1% county-wide sales tax that was approved in 2018 by voters for road projects including the expansion of Hwy 25.
“My suggestion would be Lovers Lane and Lone Tree Road, but we’d have to have those discussions as a group,” Loupe said.
Supervisor Dom Zanger agreed with repairing Lone Tree Road, saying “it looks like we’re almost going to lose that road at a certain point.”
“After the storms the last couple of years, it’s in a very dire condition,” he added.
Other county business
In a 4-1 vote, with Supervisor Kollin Kosmicki opposing, the board approved a letter of support for a $42.5 million state budget appropriation for the construction of a second San Benito High School District high school.
Curro said she brought the letter before the board but wanted to be clear that the letter was asking for funding and was not a county stance about the proposed location.
“So, all we’re doing, in my opinion, and why I did this at the board level is to bring it to show community support at the state level that we can unite behind something that is needed,” she said.
Curro said she had concerns about the proposed location because it would use prime agricultural land and raises questions of accessibility for students.
Kosmicki agreed with the board that there was a need for more space for students but said there should be a “serious discussion about school district unification.”
“There could be a lot more efficiencies with taxpayer dollars through consolidation, and I haven’t really heard nearly enough discussion about that,” he said.
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