Broadway Interchange

Daily Journal report titled Broadway interchange moves ahead

A plan to straighten the pretzel that is the Broadway interchange at Highway 101 in Burlingame took a big step this month with Caltrans approving the reconstruction's first study, five years in the making. The reconstruction, to replace the existing bridge between Rollins Road and Old Bayshore Highway, would create a six lane bridge to simplify the roadway. Caltrans, the state agency responsible for highway transportation planning and construction, signed off on the project study report earlier this month, said Syed Murtuza, Burlingame's assistant director of public works, allowing the project to move on to the next phase.

The current bridge built in 1950 is curved. The new design will be straight and the on ramps and off ramps will be realigned. Studies found the out-of-date interchange to be very complicated, which causes congestion, said Murtuza. The next step, an environmental impact report, will take at a year to complete. Caltrans approval delays the process and the project's completion is probably four to five years off, he said. I would like to see it sooner. This is very important and a long time coming for us. We deserve it as soon as possible,? said Murtuza. The project is to be paid by a county wide sales tax called Measure A, approved in 2004. Once construction begins, Murtuza estimated it would take about a year.

- Written by Fiona

Comments

[Constance]

Great news - I hope the plan also includes a very good pedestrian crosswalk. Too many times when I have driven across Rollins Road and Broadway, I have seen people walking west on the bridge trying to figure out where the crosswalk is (there isn't any now). They try to figure out how to dart across traffic with no safe crosswalk or traffic light to guide them across this dangerous intersection. Let's have a safe crosswalk for bike riders , tourists and residents.

[Joanne]

I couldn't agree with you more, Constance! We have a beautiful natural resource with the bike path along the Bay and great resources for kids and other athletes with the baseball and soccer fields. Instead of loading up the car, we should be able to access these city assets by walking or riding bikes to them.
Likewise, there could be a great synergy between Broadway's restaurants and businesses (and to a lesser extent Burlingame Avenue) if tourists didn't have to risk their lives walking the overpass.
I wish the access to the eastern side of the freeway were more pedestrian/bicycle friendly at Peninsula as well. We are wasting a wonderful resource by not having it more accessible.

[Joanne]

As a PS...I would hope that when the Broadway on and off ramps are redesigned it would be done IN CONJUNCTION with the train issue. Maybe the new roadways could be carved lower in the ground so that Broadway goes under the train tracks -- preserving our view of the hills and the trademark "Broadway-Burlingame" sign.

Why do we need a 6 lane bridge there? Somehow, 3 lanes that merge to the current one-lane Broadway seems like a bottleneck, or?