JUNE 11, 2010
COMMUNITY
THEPRESS.NET
|
3A
Officials celebrate highway widening by Dave Roberts Staff Writer Good news for harried motorists: government officials converged at Loveridge Road Monday morning to make speeches and shovel dirt for photo-ops, celebrating the fact that the next phase of the widening of Highway 4 from Loveridge to Somersville roads will begin next month. Expected to take three years to complete, the $165 million Loveridge Project will widen the highway to four lanes in each direction, including one carpool lane. The widening will accommodate an eBART line down the highway median that will be constructed simultaneously. It also includes reconstruction of the Loveridge Road interchange and auxiliary lanes between the onand off-ramps. After a two-year delay in the highway widening due to the need to redesign it to accommodate a late decision to add the eBART line, the Loveridge Project is the first of five projects that will be under construction for the next 4½ years to widen the highway east to the Highway 4 Bypass. Congressman John Garamendi feels the pain of East County commuters because he regularly travels Highway 4 from his home in Elk Grove to his district office in Walnut Creek. “I love groundbreaking ceremonies, and I love this one because this is my way into the district,” he told the packed gathering under a large tent near the Loveridge
Photo by Dave Roberts
Transportation officials break ground Monday to kick off the next phase of the Highway 4 widening at Loveridge Road. overpass. “And I am tired of counting the daisies alongside the road as I sit there waiting for the traffic to move along. None of this happens without all of you that are here.” Brentwood Mayor Bob Taylor, who is also chairman of the Contra Costa Transportation Authority and has spent many hours of his life slogging through the Highway 4 congestion, is delighted that the wid-
Behind on Payments?
Facing Foreclosure? New Alternatives are Available What if you didn’t have to fight foreclosure alone?
Understanding
Truth is, you don’t. The government’s newest program, Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA), has been put in place to provide you with better solutions, including more efficient short sales or deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure.
The goverment’s Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives are here... and you need an advocate!
Short sales and deeds-in-lieu can help to settle your mortgage debt, clear your mind of stress, and save you and your family from the financial challenges of foreclosure. The program also offers a $3,000 homeowner incentive, a pre-approved price and a waiver of deficiency on both the first and second mortgages. To find out if you are eligible for this program, download this free report at:
www.EastCountyShortSales.COM If you or anyone you know is facing foreclosure and looking for answers, please contact us. As Certified Property Experts, we can show you how to take advantage of this new, dignified solution.
Amaral & Associates, Realtors EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY
Donald R. Farrow 925-234-0856 Rena Acasio 925-382-4544
©2009 Distressed Property Institute, LLC All Rights Reserved. The above brokerage assumes no responsibility nor guarantees the accuracy of this information and is not engaged in the practice of law nor gives legal advice. It is strongly recommended that you seek appropriate professional counsel regarding your rights as a homeowner. DRE #01771241. DRE #01408700.
HAFA
ened highway will improve access to his city. “My expression when I first ran for office in Brentwood: Once you’re in Brentwood, you can’t get out. Once you’re out of Brentwood, you can’t get back in,” said Taylor. “Hopefully, this project is going to change that. Every day we sit on the freeway – it’s tough counting those daisies. I did it for like 25 years on this commute. And no matter
what time I left, sometimes I was still late. “We do appreciate all the work that has gone into getting this done. This will affect Oakley, Antioch, Brentwood, Discovery Bay – a lot of commuters, a lot of people. Let’s move some dirt. This is good for our economy; this is good for jobs. This, as our vice president said – and I’ll leave one word out – this is a big deal. And I’m very happy to be part of that big deal.” After Loveridge, the next phase of the highway widening reconfigures the Somersville Road interchange and widens the road to just west of Contra Loma Boulevard. The construction bids for that phase will be advertised this summer, and construction is expected to start later this year. The Contra Loma/L Street segment of the widening is scheduled to begin next spring and continue through the winter of 2013. In addition to widening the highway to just west of Lone Tree Way, this project will eliminate the G Street on- and off-ramps. The Lone Tree Way/A Street segment, which is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2012 and conclude in the winter of 2014, will widen the highway to just west of Hillcrest Avenue. The final phase of the project focuses on the Hillcrest Avenue interchange area and widening the highway to the Bypass. It’s scheduled to begin in the summer of 2012 and conclude in the winter of 2014. The see Highway page 22A