Major construction and renovations are still underway on both Mission Blvd. and Route 238. The year-long renovations are to primarily bring the streets up to city standards, support public transportation, and update deteriorating issues.

There are currently several projects undergoing changes simultaneously, including putting in new sidewalks, gutters, and new water medians to replace the old ones along the corridor.

One major project is the movement of the streets’ overhead wires to underground.

“We are doing the trench work and condo installation within Mission in order to put all the overhead utilities underground for the two districts,” explained Kevin Briggs, project manager of the Hayward road construction project. “One runs from just north of Industrial [Road] to Calhoun [Street] near Moreau High School and the other is from Harder Road to Sycamore Highland.”

New streetlights are also being installed along the corridor, as well as new traffic management software. With the use of video detection, the software will be able to adapt to the current demands and will appropriately adjust the timing of the traffic signals.

Briggs explained that it will adapt even during accidents on the freeways, guaranteeing a smoother flow of traffic.

To ensure the streets are both drivable and physically appealing, there have been attempts to add more plant life on the streets.  This issue hasn’t made for easy conversation.

“We’re putting in as many trees as we can but we can’t always put in trees because there are quite a few underground utilities along Mission [Blvd],” said Briggs. “Mission is a very old street so there are a lot of AT&T and PG&E Comcast cable lines that are already existing there with the conduits for the different utility companies are in the sidewalk or the street area.”

Despite the obstacles, trees are being planted where they don’t interfere with underground utilities.

Briggs also discussed how an overlay over the entire street may eventually be done along with widening the intersection at Carlos Bee to provide two left turning lanes leading up to the campus.

Two left turning lanes may also be added descending from campus and going southbound on Mission Blvd. Briggs hopes these additions will relieve some of the traffic congestion.

As of now the Mission Blvd. construction project appears to be on track.

“We’re generally on time but we won’t finish in December of 2012 because there had been some change orders that had been issued,” explained Briggs. “Plus there are weather delays that cause the completion date to be extended. So right now we’re expecting to be completed in the spring of 2013.”

In between now and the completion date, Briggs warns CSUEB commuting students to expect some construction delays when driving to and from campus. Some lane closures may be required.

Nevertheless, Briggs reassured that the workers are doing what they can to minimize any disruption in the commute.

Briggs suggested that students should check out the regular updates regarding the project by accessing it via the city of Hayward project. There, students will be better informed on when to expect lane closures, which specific lanes will be closed, along with other useful information.