|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Overnight highway closures and noisy nights for people who live near the Willow Road/U.S. 101 interchange signaled key demolition work taking place on the Caltrans project to rebuild the interchange during the first week of January.
Caltrans is rebuilding the interchange, converting a “full cloverleaf” interchange to a partial cloverleaf. The goal is to make it safer to merge into and exit from the highway and keep the highway from becoming a bottleneck at the interchange.
Demolition noise noise was noticeable to people who live some distance from the construction site. Jane Garratt, who lives near Ringwood Avenue, said she could still hear noise at 9 or 10 p.m. the night of Jan. 2, and another member of her household said she was awakened in the middle of the night by demolition noises.
The recent demolition work involved removing the sidewalks from the existing overpass, according to Caltrans spokesperson Jeffrey Weiss. Next, Caltrans will build two new bridges – one northbound, the other southbound – on either side of the existing overpass to carry traffic across the highway. Eventually, the existing overpass will be demolished and replaced with a connection between the two bridges to make a single extra-wide bridge, he said.
When completed, the new interchange will accommodate eight lanes of traffic, with wider off-ramps, and will have new sidewalks and dedicated bike lanes.
The next immediate steps for the project, according to a Menlo Park construction update, are for Caltrans to demolish the outside portions of the overpass and the sound walls along Bay Road and Van Buren Road; install temporary concrete barriers on the freeway; prepare the soil for the new overpass; add road striping on Willow Road and ramps; prepare for the new bridge abutments; install new water lines on Pierce Road, Bay Road, Willow Road and East Bayshore Road; and remove or trim trees and vegetation in the project area.
How to cross U.S. 101
Sidewalks on both sides of Willow Road remain closed. People can take a free 24-hour shuttle service to safely navigate Willow Road between Newbridge Street and Durham Street by calling (415) 263-4000.
Cyclists are encouraged to take an alternate route across the highway at the Ringwood Avenue bike and pedestrian bridge.
Woodside man and dog injured in hit-and-run on dangerous stretch of Woodside RoadMarch 19, 2026 10:39 am
Who approved heavy concrete demolition to take place at 2am a few feet from residential neighborhoods? I get it for the nights they have to close 101 as being unavoidable. But Tuesday night the road was open but heavy pounding for hours after midnight. Does the city have ANY influence on this project?
Menlo Park has no say in the matter – but, cant imagine anyone living near a fwy expecting quiet nights all the time.
Years ago people in Palo Alto complained about the traffic and noise on their street from soccer – at a school that had been there since before the neighborhood was built.
A few nights of discomfort for years of extra traffic congestion sounds like a pretty good starting point to the downfall of our beloved small town.
Thanks for the informative article. Good to know what the noise was and about future work and road closures.
Caltrans might have attempted to notify nearby residents of unusually loud late p.m./early a.m. demolition.
I live near Marsh rd and US 101. The Marsh rd US 101 interchange was poorly planned, so is the Willow rd US 101 interchange Menlo Park . the real cause of the Willow rd poor plan , is the Facebook business, it’s just to big. The west bound willow rd from us 101 use to be four lanes, today to much traffic on only two traffic lanes. The increase of traffic because of Facebook ,town square will have a negative impact ont Menlo Park other areas like Marsh road , university.ave, middlefield rd etc. who planned the willow interchange? Facebook developers? Caltrans ? Poor planning , thousands of more cars everyday onto small streets.