Motorists on Interstate Highway 680 in Danville and San Ramon will soon have an easier, safer time merging onto the busy freeway.
Two new 2-mile-long merging lanes will soon open in each direction of Highway 680 through Danville and parts of San Ramon, according to the Contra Costa Transportation Authority, which partnered with Caltrans on the project.
Dubbed "auxiliary lanes," the lanes stretch from Sycamore Valley Road in Danville to Crow Canyon Road in San Ramon.
The northbound lane is set to open on Friday and the southbound portion will open on July 1, according to the CCTA. The additional lanes are designed so that motorists can merge more safely into traffic while entering Highway 680 in the highly trafficked Danville-San Ramon area.
The $34.3 million auxiliary lanes are the final part of a three-phase, eight-year project meant to ease congestion and boost safety on that stretch of Highway 680.
"Completion of this final segment helps improve mobility by allowing traffic to safely enter and exit with easier mobility onto the freeway," Caltrans District 4 Director Bijan Sartipi said.
Federal funding for the project covered about $21 million, area developer fees accounted for about $11 million, while the state and a county half-cent transportation sales tax each provided about $1 million for the project, according to the CCTA.
About three weeks of night work in the freeway's median lanes will still need to be completed this month, and should be done by July 25, according to the transportation authority.
Landscaping work along the new lanes is expected to be completed later this year.
Part of the project also included decorative oak leaves on new retaining walls near the Greenbrook Drive overcrossing, in keeping with the town of Danville's oak tree symbol.
--Bay City News
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