New highway interchange satisfies Burlingame’s Broadway businesses: Patrons return as traffic woes soothed by project, merchant claims

Merchants and patrons to businesses along Broadway in Burlingame are pleased with the improvements brought to the commercial district by the recent opening of a new highway overpass.

John Kevranian, head of the Broadway Business Improvement District, said traffic is flowing more freely throughout the area since the new overpass was opened, which in turn has drawn more shoppers to nearby stores.

“They have made some improvements, and we are very happy,” said Kevranian, owner of Nuts For Candy. “It is safer and it is a lot better.”

Caltrans workers opened the new overpass at the Broadway interchange and took down the old structure over consecutive weekends last month, finishing the second phase of a project designed to ease congestion at the historically problematic exchange from Highway 101.

Business throughout the commercial district was unaffected by the final transition work, said Kevranian, as much of it took place late at night and Caltrans was successful in spreading awareness in the weeks leading up to the project.

“It was very well communicated and there was no impact with the demolition of the old overpass,” he said. “It was very smooth.”

Stretches of Highway 101 were closed overnight during the last couple weekends in March to allow workers to open the new overpass, and safely take down the old structure.

Opening the new overpass is a milestone for the three-phase project, expected to be completed near the end of the year.

The reopened, wider overpass offers more lanes, reconfigured ramp connections, new metering lights and the adjacent intersection at Broadway and Rollins Road has been redesigned, along with other improvements.

The transition was not without a few kinks though, said Kevranian, as initially some traffic lane markings were not aligned properly through intersections, which caused confusion for drivers.

The issue was compounded by insufficient signage, said Kevranian, as more notifications still need to be posted to inform drivers how to navigate the newly configured interchange.

But he credited the responsiveness of Caltrans officials in promptly addressing many of the necessary fixes to make the project move ahead as smoothly as possible.

“They have been very cooperative,” said Kevranian, of Caltrans officials. “We are very pleased with the outcome, and they have been listening to what we have to say.”

Measure A, the county’s half-cent sales tax, financed about $51 million of the project, the state contributed roughly $23 million, $5 million came from the city and $3 million was offered by the federal government.

Roughly 225,000 cars commute daily across the overpass which was built in 1947, making it the oldest along the Peninsula. The structure was rebuilt in 1971, and seismically renovated roughly a decade later.

Kevranian said since the new overpass was opened, patrons who once avoided Broadway due to the traffic congestion generated by the ongoing construction have returned to shopping along the commercial district.

He said ultimately he believed the new interchange could serve as a boon for local businesses.

“Some of our regular customers who come from out of the area are coming back after the interchange opened,” he said. “They are happy about it. Our local customers are excited that it is open too.”

As the project nears completion and the commercial district becomes more accessible, Kevranian said he expects more businesses to show interest in opening on Broadway, especially as the cost of doing business along Burlingame Avenue continues to rise with many facing substantial rent hikes.

“You are going to see more businesses coming to Broadway once this is done,” he said.