Tunnel is Open to Traffic Despite Some Minor Snafus

By Bay City News Service

Traffic is flowing smoothly through California's newest tunnel system at Devil's Slide in San Mateo County, a California Highway Patrol officer said Tuesday.

Beginning at about 2 a.m. Tuesday, traffic was permanently redirected away from a notorious cliffside stretch of state Highway 1 south of Pacifica and steered instead into the Tom Lantos Tunnels, CHP Officer Mike Ferguson said.

There have been no reports of any problems, he said.

Still, some coastside residents experienced some annoying traffic problems hours before the tunnels officially opened. Jayne Williams said she was "so infuriated" that Caltrans closed the tunnels at rush hour and "blocked lanes in two places getting up over the hill. Not nice," she said.

Half Moon Bay resident Amy Fothergill took her children to Pacifica Monday night for dinner as an excuse to drive over the slide one more time, and on their way back after 7 p.m. there was one-way traffic. "It took about twice as long to get home," she said, since Caltran workers were still moving a lot of the concrete barriers along the road to the tunnels.

But once the tunnels were opened, many who went through Tuesday morning either on their commute or just for fun were pleased, honking the whole way through, said Pacifica resident Mark Wise, and enjoying a "quicker, safer ride," said Half Moon Bay resident Dee Richards. "The only problem I see were some cars trying to pass people in the breakdown lane. Seems some people think it's two lanes."

Teri Leigh West on Patch's Facebook page wrote: "Loved it! Just wondering what to do in the event of a flat tire? Pull all the way to the right? There's a bit of curb there. Is foot traffic allowed? I'm so glad they have emergency phones every few feet. Overall it's grand. This I hope is a good thing for all the small businesses on the coast."

Sandra Johnston Grant thinks people should have a choice between either driving Highway 1 or the tunnels, and the drive just won't be the same for Jill Morris, who says it's the view that she will miss. "I know the upkeep on the 1 was costly and the traffic was treacherous and annoying but we've traded the magic of that vista, an amazing coast-side attraction, for convenience and speed." She does like the bike lane, however, and writes on Patch's Facebok page: "Kudos to the engineers and workers who labored for many years. Your handy work is a piece of art."

For Diana Fernandez her commute was eight minutes faster from Half Moon Bay to San Francisco and back now with the tunnel. "I love it," she said. " ... now I can go visit my family in Pacifica and not be freaked about the slide. Thank you hard working men and women for all your labor!"

The tunnels, a pair of north- and southbound bores that run 4,200 feet through San Pedro Mountain, are California's longest tunnels and are the first to open in the state since the Caldecott Tunnel was unveiled in Oakland in 1964, according to Caltrans.

The cost of the project, which took more than six years to complete, was approximately $439 million. More than 21,000 truckloads of dirt and rock was removed from the mountain during construction, Caltrans officials said.

The tunnels replace a nearly mile-and-a-half stretch of steep and winding Highway 1 above the Pacific Ocean that has long been prone to crashes, landslides and long term-closures.

Stephanie Erskine, a 33-year coastsider, says she loves the tunnel. "I'm looking forward to no more closures due to the weather. I miss the view southbound, but I'm looking forward to walking that stretch of the slide instead of driving it."

Have you driven through the tunnels yet? What do you think?!

Additional reporting by Christa Bigue.

Copyright © 2013 by Bay City News, Inc. — Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.

Read more on Patch:

• 'Hooray! It's the People's Tunnel'
• Welcoming the Tom Lantos Tunnels to the Coast
  
• Who Will Drive Through the Tunnels First?
• There's Finally Light at the End of the Tunnels

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