A popular stretch of road in Sunnyvale is getting a long-awaited upgrade.
The City Council recently approved a $2.56 million contract with a South San Francisco-based graving and paving company to resurface Wolfe Road from Homestead Road to El Camino Real, part of a 2019 initiative to update the old pavement.
“The city and contractor will be notifying residents in advance about the work and any construction-related impacts,” city spokesperson Jennifer Garnett said in a statement. “We’ll know specifics after we’ve met with the contractor and determined the schedule and construction plan.”
The road, which is located south of El Camino and runs more than a mile through the suburbs, was last updated in 2001. An average of 24,354 vehicles travel on Wolfe Road between Homestead Road and El Camino each day. The city does not have available data on the number of pedestrians who use the road, according to Garnett.
Money for the project comes from the city’s general fund and various county and state sources. At the end of June, workers are slated to replace the road’s damaged gutters and modify traffic signals and curb ramps. Construction activity will continue later that month with patch paving to badly damaged parts of Wolfe. Final asphalt overlay and lane striping are expected to follow afterward.
The surface is expected to last for 20 years once it is completed. The typical life for a pavement reconstruction treatment is approximately 15 to 20 years.
“This major corridor has been through a lot in the past 25 years,” Councilmember Russ Melton said in a statement, “and the completed rehabilitation will be welcome by all.”
Melton said he encourages drivers on Wolfe to be patient and reduce their speed when encountering work crews.
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City staff waited for PG&E to complete underground utilities improvements on Wolfe Road before green-lighting the street pavement. The project, which began in August 2022 and wrapped up recently, included moving overhead utility lines underground. The changes provide safer and more reliable gas and electricity to the neighborhood, according to the city.
Sunnyvale isn’t the only city making updates to Wolfe. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, in cooperation with Cupertino and the California Department of Transportation, are taking steps to modify the North Wolfe Road interchange with Interstate 280 in Cupertino.
The purpose of the project is to improve the flow of traffic and facilities for bicyclists and pedestrians at the busy interchange. The current project cost estimate for the interchange is $120 million, and it is scheduled for construction in 2025.
