This loop’s for you
Those words were said in jest at a meeting Thursday to update folks on the Route 238 Corridor Improvement Project through Mission Boulevard and downtown, but they are a reminder that love it or hate it, the one-way traffic loop through downtown Hayward is coming soon.
At the meeting Thursday, city project manager Kevin Briggs said the loop will be put in place in March, though he did not yet have an exact date. A big unknown is when the massive signal bridges that will span Foothill will arrive. Deliverers of the bridges, which are being fabricated to order in Utah, have to get permits to drive the wide structures down roads in several states. Stay tuned.
Hayward staff members have been saying “spring” for when roadwork will be finished, but remember, spring is through late June. The delays have not been intentional; some have been weather, some have been the result of digging up streets and finding unexpected things underground (Hayward downtown is really old and maps aren’t always accurate; some have been because some water and gas lines were not set deep enough. Talking with city officials, it seems they would like for this to be finished ASAP.
Paving on south Mission is supposed to finish next week, so with any luck, traffic will improve in that area. And city staff members are aware that traffic is slow; Briggs was stuck on Mission Thursday trying to get to his meeting at City Hall.