In the heart of Silicon Valley, Palo Alto (along with its neighbor to the south, Mountain View) is home to hundreds of technology and research-based companies, including a number of major employers such as Google, Intuit, and Space Systems Loral that have clustered in close proximity to Highway 101 and the Bay Trail. To better link these growing job centers with regional trails and bicycle facilities, and improve access to superb recreation opportunities like the Baylands, the City has prioritized the funding and construction of a new, year-round bicycle and pedestrian overcrossing over Highway 101 at Adobe Creek near the City’s southern border.

The Highway 101 Pedestrian/Bike Bridge Project at Adobe Creek will replace the existing seasonal Benjamin Lefkowitz Underpass that is available only half the year (on average) due to seasonal flooding. It would also complement an existing, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) non-compliant, overpass that is 1.25 miles north. The new overcrossing will include a new Class I trail connection, connecting West Bayshore Road to the Baylands.

• The project includes the principal span structures consisting of self-weathering steel trusses over Highway 101 and East and West Bayshore Roads, the east and west concrete approach structures, three trailheads, and the Adobe Creek Reach Trail. The pathway will be 12 feet wide.
• The Adobe Creek Reach Trail will connect the trailheads at East Meadow Drive and West Bayshore Road.
• Site amenities, signage, landscaping, and lighting are also included.

Upcoming Construction Activities (January through April 2020)
The following activities are anticipated: 

• Pre-construction meeting
• Submittals preparation and review (e.g. Traffic Control Plans; Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP); utility relocation plans; shop drawings; etc.)
• Construction area signs
• Vegetation removal
• SWPPP implementation
• Utility relocation on West Bayshore Road