Bay Area Council and Coalition Partners Announce Beginning of Construction on Sunol Grade Expansion.

News Editors/Transportation Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 16, 2000

The Bay Area Council and its strategic partners in the Solutions on Sunol (SOS) coalition have scored a solid victory in the campaign to increase transportation mobility in the region -- ground breaking ceremonies will be held for the new southbound HOV lane (for car pools and buses) on I-680 at the Sunol Grade.

The ceremony is scheduled for Friday, June 16 at 10:30 a.m. It will take place at a vacant lot at S. Grimmer Road underneath I-680. To get there from southbound I-680, take the Durham Road exit and turn left onto Auto Mall Parkway. Go left onto Osgood Road. Go left onto S. Grimmer Road. To get there from northbound I-680, take the Auto Mall Parkway exit and turn left onto Auto Mall Parkway. Follow directions above.

Sunne Wright McPeak, president, Bay Area Council, remarked that, "This is a major accomplishment for the Bay Area that was achieved in a relatively short time period because of the work of a broad coalition of organizations and public officials."

The Bay Area Council helped organize Solutions on Sunol, a sizable and highly effective support coalition, whose members worked together to secure the needed federal and State legislation and to garner the necessary funding for road construction from local and regional authorities on a "fast track" basis. Coalition members include: Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher, State Senator Liz Figueroa, Contra Costa Council, Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group, Tri-Valley Business Council, and Fremont Chamber of Commerce.

The SOS coalition worked with Congresswoman Tauscher to secure the federal legislation and with State Senator Figueroa (then in the Assembly) to secure an enabling bill in the State Legislature, which was signed into law by the Governor at the end of the 1998 legislative session.

In addition, the Bay Area Council and coalition partners also secured new interregional funds from the California Transportation Commission, which yielded sufficient funding to begin construction, and worked with the Congestion Management Agencies in Contra Costa, Alameda and Santa Clara counties to program flexible county funds to the project.

"The Sunol Grade is considered the most congested traffic corridor in the region and, when complete, this southbound lane should bring noticeable relief to travelers," stated Michael Cunningham, Bay Area Council vice president for Transportation.

The Bay Area Council is a CEO-led, business-sponsored public policy organization founded more than 50 years ago to promote regional economic prosperity and quality of life. The Council presents a strong, united voice for more than 250 major employers from throughout the region to help shape public policy affecting transportation, environmental quality, economic development, housing and land use, sustainable development, water policy, education and work-force preparation, and telecommunications infrastructure.