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Jim Cunneen
Jim Cunneen talks about Highway 85 noise issues
By Kara Chalmers
Assemblyman Jim Cunneen on Dec. 7 discussed with several West Valley officials the prickly issue of noise abatement on Highway 85.
The county Board of Supervisors in June voted to earmark $9 million to study the unusually loud six-mile stretch of Highway 85 that passes through residential neighborhoods in Cupertino, Saratoga, Campbell and Los Gatos.
This corridor dips below ground and is lined by high sound walls, which a 1996 noise study by Acentech, a Southern California-based contractor, partly blames for accentuating the noise. The road is paved with grooved concrete, which is also partly to blame.
The study suggested resurfacing the highway with material quieter than grooved concrete, among other suggestions. Repaving the road with asphalt would be the best option, Cunneen said.
However, Caltrans has not agreed to allow the corridor to be repaved. According to Saratoga city manager Larry Perlin, Caltrans believes that it is unnecessary to repave a new freeway, that concrete is important in the road's engineering and design, and that asphalt and pavement may be incompatible materials in this scenario. Cunneen suggested that he and state Sen. Byron Sher write a joint letter to Caltrans, asking that Caltrans agree to the repaving, which would be funded and designed locally.
Cunneen represents the cities of Saratoga, Los Gatos, Los Altos, Cupertino and Campbell in the state Assembly, and his term expires in 2000. He plans to run for the 15th Congressional District seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Tom Campbell.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
