Gilroy isn
’t in U.S. Rep. Richard Pombo’s district, but the Republican
lawmaker from Tracy knows – as anyone who travels between the
Silicon and Central valleys does – about a traffic bottleneck on
the Pacheco Pass Highway in front of Gilroy Foods.
Gilroy isn’t in U.S. Rep. Richard Pombo’s district, but the Republican lawmaker from Tracy knows – as anyone who travels between the Silicon and Central valleys does – about a traffic bottleneck on the Pacheco Pass Highway in front of Gilroy Foods.
In a budget year made tight by tax cuts and a war in Iraq, Pombo managed to squeeze $250,000 for a widening/stoplight project on Pacheco Pass Highway (state 152) into the Omnibus Appropriations Bill, which the House of Representatives passed on Dec. 8. The U.S. Senate will consider the spending plan in January.
The money will pay only a small portion of the planned $12 million solution, but Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage – who put the bug in Pombo’s ear about the project – said he wasn’t disappointed.
“I was very pleased to hear that Pombo was able to get us anything,” Gage said Thursday. “You’re always hoping for more, but I understand that (members of Congress) aren’t in any better shape (budget-wise) than anyone else is.”
The project includes a stoplight in front of Gilroy Foods and widening the road from there to the other side of Llagas Creek, less than a mile. It could cost as little as $3 million if the widening was stopped just short of the creek, which would be fine for Gilroy Foods employees, according to Plant Manager Bob Cates.
The $250,000 could cover the cost of a stoplight by itself, but Gage said widening is the first priority.
This is one of many projects supposed to be funded by a voter-approved half-cent sales tax in 1996, but with the bigger projects from the measure finished – widening 101 from San Jose to Gilroy, for instance – there’s concern whether there will be enough money left.
Gage promised the project long ago and has made it his top priority for whatever 1996 measure funds are left over from under-budget projects.
Pombo’s district includes Morgan Hill, but the Gilroy city limits – including the project site – are in the district of Rep. Mike Honda, D-Campbell.
