Central Expressway: Our Changing Commute

Does your normal commute involve Central Expressway? Over the last month or so have you found yourself 20 minutes late to work, every day, because of all the construction going on between Wolfe Road and Mary Avenue in Sunnyvale? I have, too, and have finally figured out what is going on. The signage states they are constructing an auxiliary lane and the work dates are from August 19 to September 29, 2010. As of this morning, the construction was still going on and they did not seem ready to stop anytime soon.

Did you know that the new auxiliary lane will be on both sides, widening the expressway from two to three lanes on each side? Apparently, they are doing this to ease traffic congestion during commute times. For the morning commute, the congestion starts in Mountain View near the train stations at Castro and Rengstorff, but runs smoothly Sunnyvale.

Central Expressway does get clogged up going from Mountain View to Sunnyvale at evening commute time. The main trouble spot for commuters is right after the Mary Avenue stoplight. Here three lanes of traffic are forced to merge into two, and then the entrance to Central Expressway from Mary also combines to make a large jumbled mess. After driving this fiasco every day, I welcome the auxiliary lane for the commute home.

The speed limit on this path is 50 mph in Sunnyvale, but the construction has reduced it to 40 mph. Many drivers who merge on to the expressway from Wolfe and Mathilda do not give themselves enough time to slow down. This causes even more congestion.

Do you think the extra lanes will help this troubled area or do you think it will just invite more people to drive on our hidden expressway? Only time will tell.

Sources:
Personal Experience
14th Congressional District Funding Requests for Fiscal Year 2010