However, the half-mile project is not popular with some residents living near the worksite on Stevens Canyon Road between Santa Lucia Road and Stevens Creek County Park entrance.

"It's totally ridiculous and they shouldn't have started it in the first place," said Dean Sayre, who has lived at 10805 Stevens Canyon Road for 44 years. "They work from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and during these hours, there's so much noise and traffic here. They damaged my water line and gas line and cut my telephone line. Someone has asked me, 'How in the world do you live with it?' It's been a real circus up here."

Warren Dunn, who lives a couple of blocks from the project site on Cordova Road, said, "They have created so much inconvenience for the neighbors. A lot of the residents are very upset. I just can't imagine that the city is spending so much money at this difficult economic time."

According to Glenn Goepfert, the city's assistant director of public works, the project, which will be completed in early June, will widen the road by five to 10 feet to provide a minimum road width of 32 feet. This includes two 12-foot motor travel lanes and two 4-foot bicycle lanes.

According to Public Works Director Ralph Qualls, the project is costing the city approximately $1.3 million. Although the amount of money is significant, it does not impact the city's current financial condition, as the funds were budgeted several years ago, before the financial problems occurred at the state level.

Qualls explained that the project was designed to establish a uniform cross section over Stevens Canyon Road to provide greater safety for vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians.

Sayre is skeptical about the project's effectiveness.

He said, "I think it's going to make things worse. People are going to speed up because of the project, thinking it's safer. And now that they've widened the road right to the bank, when it rains, there's going to be erosion and slides. I feel it's going to be less safe for people. But who knows? Only time will tell."

A ceremony, which will dedicate a plaque to Jeffrey Steinwedel, the bicyclist killed in 1996 in a collision on Stevens Canyon Road, will take place later in the summer.