Roadwork on Camino Tassajara near Diablo Vista Middle School will extend through September, due to delays in construction. The work should be finished by October.
The roadway improvements are to make way for the 1,400 new homes being built off Camino Tassajara. Even though Shapell Homes’ new Alamo Creek and Lennar Homes’ Intervening Properties are separate, they are constructing road improvements together, said Shelly Frank of Shapell Homes.
These improvements include widening Camino Tassajara to four lanes. Along with the widening, utility companies such as East Bay Municipal Utility District, SBC Communications, Comcast and PG&E are installing infrastructure for the new homes.
Roadway improvements were originally planned to finish before the start of the school year. The town of Danville only found out about the construction delays a week before school began.
Representatives from the town and the county monitored the traffic flow the first week of school.
“So far it isn’t that bad. We had to really work closely with the school district, county and developers to come up with a traffic control plan that would be as efficient as possible,” said anin Shakerin, transportation engineer for Danville.
In the morning, parents drop their children off at school over a period of time. But the afternoon pickup is a different story.
“In the afternoon it’s worse,” said Shakerin. “All the parents are coming at the same time. Everybody wants to pick up at the bell time.”
The traffic has been moved from the northside of Camino Tassajara between Hansen Lane and Tassajara Hills to the southside. No left turns are allowed from Camino Tassajara westbound into Diablo Vista at Hansen Lane. Drivers who normally make this left turn must head west to Lawrence Road to make a U-turn, said Shakerin.
Both Tassajara Hills Elementary School and Diablo Vista Middle School are along the affected stretch of Camino Tassajara, although Diablo Vista is the most impacted. Even though the east end of Camino Tassajara is under the jurisdiction of Contra Costa County, Danville residents are still greatly impacted, said Tai Williams, Danville transportation manager.
The two biggest causes of traffic congestion, said Williams, are the flashing red light installed at Hansen Lane and Camino Tassajara, and the U-turn at Lawrence Road.
“During the a.m. peak hour, over a thousand cars go through that intersection. That is a lot of cars that have to stop every single time,” Williams pointed out.
The town was aware that the construction would have a huge impact on drivers during school dropoff and pickup times and peak morning and afternoon commuting times, and held a meeting with the involved agencies. Town officials were also concerned about students crossing Camino Tassajara at Hansen Lane. During construction, this crosswalk has been closed. Students, for the month of September, can only cross at Lawrence Road, where there is a signalized light.
The developer, along with the county, sent out informational fliers to parents at Diablo Vista and residents who live in the vicinity informing them of traffic changes, said Shakerin.
In an effort to alleviate congestion, the county has asked the developer to have trained flaggers at the intersection during the morning and afternoon peak hours, said Warren Lai with the county Public Works Department. The flaggers act as a manual traffic signal.
“It is a struggle. We can only hope that the county and project developers are able to move along quickly,” said Williams.
