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DeSilva Gates-Viking is the company awarded the contract for the Hwy 101/25 interchange project and is expected to start Phase 1 in April.
DeSilva’s $82.5 million bid was the lowest of the six submitted to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). The other bids ranged from $92.3 million to $104.7 million.
In the meantime, preparation is underway to relocate gas lines and replace wells. VTA anticipates it will remove trees in the area in December and January ahead of the nesting bird season. It also plans to tear down the Garlic Shoppe.
The project consists of two phases. Phase 1, with an estimated cost of $136 million, involves constructing a new four-lane bridge just north of the existing one, extending the on/off ramps and adding two traffic signals. It also includes the construction of a separate two-way bike lane between Castro Valley Road and the Hwy 101/25 interchange.
Santa Clara County’s Measure B will fund $77 million of the project and Senate Bill 1, California’s Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, will fund $59 million.
Karsten Adam of VTA said at the Nov. 20 Mobility Partnership meeting that the work scheduled to begin in April includes constructing most of the southbound ramps, a portion of the northbound ramp and part of Hwy 25 near the interchange. Castro Valley and Mesa roads will both be closed. The Mobility Partnership is a committee made up of elected representatives from Santa Clara and San Benito counties.
In 2026, VTA expects to finish all ramps and start “falsework”—the temporary structure used to support a permanent structure until it can support itself—for the main bridge over Hwy 101
Construction is expected to be completed in 2027, including demolishing the old overcrossing.
Detours ahead
Adam said there will be eight different detours implemented throughout the project for weekend and overnight work. Sometime in 2025, motorists on Hwy 25 connecting to southbound Hwy 101 will be directed to take northbound Hwy 101 to Monterey Road, where they can access the southbound ramp.
Cyclists will be detoured to Bloomfield Avenue and then Bolsa Road for the duration of the three-year project.
“It’s hard to predict exactly what the delays are going to be,” Adam said. “We’re trying to minimize those, of course. The detours, for example, are mainly happening at night, off- peak hours. Otherwise you’ll see general types of delays you see at construction sites.”
According to the VTA website, the Hwy 101/25 interchange is over 30 years old and cannot accommodate current traffic demands which include commuters, commercial and recreational traffic.
“These conditions, coupled with high travel speeds, have resulted in higher-than-average accident rates in the interchange area, and traffic backups onto southbound US 101,” the website states.
It is common to see a line of motorists using the shoulder from Uvas Creek onto the interchange, a stretch of more than half a mile.
Phase 2 of the project has an estimated cost of $35 million and includes connecting Hwy 25 to Santa Teresa Boulevard. Construction is expected to take place between 2027 and 2029. No funding for this work has been approved.
Marcella Rensi, VTA deputy director of programs and allocations, previously said Caltrans will apply for the Trade Corridor Enhancement Program grant of $2 million for right-of-way and construction phases for the Santa Teresa Boulevard extension project. Applications were due Nov. 22 and program adoption is expected in June 2025.
To obtain state funding, VTA will draft letters of support for various agencies, stakeholders and community leaders that would be included in the application packet.
The 101/25 interchange is part of a larger project to widen Hwy 101 from four to six lanes between Monterey Road and Hwy 129, build a bridge on Hwy 25 over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks, construct a flood bridge west of the tracks and install pedestrian and bike connections.
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