San Benito County Transportation Digest

A park-wide project to address road repair needs will take place in the spring and summer.

A program that allows solo drivers of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to use carpool lanes on freeways and bridges in California may be removed for good next year.

Highway 1 is closed indefinitely from Palo Colorado Road to Rocky Creek Bridge, the California Department of Transportation said on social media after a new landslide eroded part of the roadway.

Planned Highway 101/25 interchange sound wall will cut off access to popular destination.

On March 1, the California Public Utilities Commission gave approval for driverless taxi company Waymo to expand service into Los Angeles and San Mateo counties.

The Hollister City Council agreed to a traffic calming study to determine if four-way stops are needed along San Benito Street from Hawkins Street to Nash Road.

Transportation Planner Douglas Kean says less than 1% of county residents use San Benito County’s public transit system and that transit operations need to be fundamentally restructured.

California electric vehicle sales dropped significantly in the last half of 2023, raising questions about the state’s ability to phase out gas-powered cars.

The San Pedro ports had a busy January as they rebounded from last year’s labor troubles and picked up cargo redirected because of Suez and Panama canal troubles.

Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) appointed Bob Tiffany, a fourth-generation San Benito County resident and business owner, to the California Transportation Commission.

Some automakers are reducing production of electric cars and Tesla sales have dropped. Can California sustain its record pace and meet the state mandate?

The proposed bill would require new California cars to have a speed limiter.

A project to connect Los Angeles and Las Vegas via electric high speed rail could break ground in early 2024, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced.

The Highway 25 curve alignment, located 32 miles south of Hollister, is on schedule to be completed in late spring, and the combined cost of the original, failed project and its restoration has come to $14.2 million.

The numbers and letters on your car can reveal more than you think.

Caltrans has set a Jan. 25 deadline for tech companies to show how generative artificial intelligence might reduce traffic congestion in the state. This follows an executive order that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed in September related to this type of AI.

Heavy snow is projected in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Previously, warmer storms had been bringing precipitation mainly to higher elevations in the Sierras.

San Francisco police officers have been operating for more than a year with guidance from their chief that California’s vehicle code doesn’t provide authority for them to ticket driverless cars for infractions like speeding or running red lights. Officers are still encouraged to report relevant information about incidents.

BenitoLink looks ahead to construction projects in the county that are expected to begin or be completed in 2024.

Farmland is being rezoned for industrial use, and massive warehouses are being built on spec near communities like Buttonwillow and Shafter, so goods coming through the Southern California ports can be shipped quickly throughout the western United States.

A group of protesters sat down with interlocked arms on the 110 Freeway near downtown LA on Dec. 13, halting southbound traffic for more than an hour. Multiple people were arrested according to the CHP.

Higher-income workers are more likely to work from home, analysis of recent census data shows. Lower-income workers can face long and solitary commutes to get to work.

U.S. Representative Zoe Lofgren announced Dec. 8 that the Department of Transportation will distribute $1,080,000 to the city of Hollister for a comprehensive roadway safety action plan.

Private company Brightline secured a $3 billion grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation toward a 218-mile high-speed rail line from Rancho Cucamonga to Las Vegas. The line would allow people to make the trip to Sin City in a little over two hours.

An Alameda County judge ruled on Nov. 22 that the city of Oakland thwarted a proposed coal export terminal. The judge will rule if the developer who sued is entitled to $159 million in damages or moving forward with the project.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles changed its voter registration process in 2019 to put a party selection dropdown on the same page. Since then, the number of people registering as Republicans or Democrats has jumped close to 20 points.

The Orange County Transportation Authority announced that work has been completed for express lanes along 16 miles of Interstate 405. The lanes, which were part of a $2.16 billion improvement project, span from Costa Mesa to the Los Angeles County line.

A new study by Forbes shows that four cities in the Golden State—Los Angeles, Fresno, San Diego and Sacramento—are among the 21 worst cities in the United States for holiday travel. Forbes looked at a variety of factors including car accidents, hotel prices and air travel.

Interstate 10 in Los Angeles will reopen Nov. 21, following a fire on Nov. 11. It had previously been feared the freeway would be closed much longer.

The Wildlife Conservation Board is scheduled to consider providing $5.6 million for a wildlife crossing near the San Benito-Monterey county line to address “one of the most significant and least permeable wildlife connectivity bottlenecks in California.”

The Intergovernmental Committee approved a letter asking Caltrans to prohibit left turns onto Highway 156 from Flint and Bixby roads and Lucy Brown Lane between 3-7 p.m.

China modeled some of its climate programs on policies first adopted by California. Now, California depends on the world’s most populous country for essential materials in its electric vehicle ambitions.