At the city council meeting held on April 16, Dawn Cameron, a consultant for the department, presented a long-term plan for improving and maintaining all eight expressways in the county, including Lawrence and San Tomas expressways.

The Expressway Study entails 69 roadway improvement projects, including widening roads, adding new turning lanes at intersections, replacing bridges and installing connector ramps to connect expressways to freeways.

According to Cameron, all eight expressways have a unique need of improvement, and she used Lawrence and San Tomas expressways as examples.

"I suspect these expressways will have a huge gridlock problem in the future," she said, attributing the problem to the way the road is structured.

Lawrence and San Tomas expressways run parallel to one another and do not have a direct connection to any freeway. In addition, there are vehicles coming from all 12 intersections on Lawrence Expressway and cars coming from the 11 intersections on San Tomas Expressway.

"This creates a huge traffic jam," said Cameron. "It makes it difficult for people to get to work."

However, Cameron said that the south end of Lawrence Expressway, which runs along Saratoga, is less chaotic because it leads into more residential areas. The main concern with this area is making it more pedestrian-friendly. In order to accommodate pedestrians, Cameron said, the county is recommending adding sidewalks on both sides of the street between Prospect Road and Saratoga Avenue to allow safer access to bus stops and parallel paths. She said the county also hopes to add higher replacement soundwalls near Prospect.

Funding for the project will not come easily, according to Cameron. The total estimated cost to improve all expressways is approximately $2 billion, with $150 million needed to start on those that are of the highest priority.

The primary funding sources for the program are federal and state grants, which are allocated through the Valley Transportation Authority. Currently, VTA allocates $80 million for expressway maintenance, leaving the department $70 million short to start with the major improvements.

The department is asking all 12 cities through which these expressways run—including Saratoga, Cupertino, San Jose and Sunnyvale—for financial support. Cameron said she expects the project will start in at least five years.

The issue will be discussed further at the May 7 city council meeting.