Lane still closed after Highway 9 slide
The northbound lane of Highway 9 will remain closed south of Saratoga for at least another six months, said Caltrans spokesperson Jeff Weiss.
A 200-foot section of one lane of the road dropped about five feet in a March 11 mudslide.
The road closed from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily for a week after the incident. During that time, repair crews drove nearly 150 steel piles into the hillside to stabilize the road.
Both lanes will be open after a retaining wall has been built and the roadbed is restored. The retaining wall, now being designed, should be completed within a month, Weiss said.
Until then, a temporary traffic signal will allow traffic to flow in only one direction at a time. About 3,800 cars travel the road each day.
Blood drive planned
A Stanford Blood Center bloodmobile will make a stop April 2 in front of The Colour Shoppe, 12361 Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road.
Donors can give blood between 2:30 and 7 p.m.
Donors must be older than 17 years and younger than 70. They must also show a photo ID card first. Anyone who brings along a new donor will get a free "Donor Buddy" T-shirt.
To make an appointment, call 867-0753 or (415) 723-7819.
Nelson Gardens gets final approval
The City Council voted unanimously March 20 to approve the final subdivision map for 20851 Saratoga Hills Road, the Nelson Gardens property.
The Community Foundation of Santa Clara County plans to build nine houses on the 5.1-acre site. On Feb. 7, the City Council dissolved a land preservation contract between the city and former owner Frank Nelson. The contract would have barred development there until the year 2000.
New public safety commissioners
Three new members of the Public Safety Commission were sworn in at the City Council's March 20 meeting.
Rosemary Dippel, Belinda Heerwagen, Frank Lemmon and Larry Shen all were appointed to four-year terms on the commission.
Terms of Catherine Gaskell, Kenneth Johnson and John Kolstad expired. Commissioner Eugene O'Rorke died in February, two months before his term ended.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, March 27, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved