Local Control Of Decoto Road Moves Forward

FREMONT, CA — A state legislator has introduced a bill that would relinquish ownership of a portion of state Highway 84 to the city of Fremont.

The section of highway in question consists of nearly 3 miles of Decoto Road between Interstate Highway 880 and Mission Boulevard, roughly half of which runs through Union City north of Alameda Creek.

"Fremont has long desired to have Caltrans relinquished (sic) this portion of the route when the time was right," Senate Bill 989 author State Sen. Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, said in a statement. "Now everything is coming into place."

The move has been in progress since the city entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Alameda County Transportation Commission, Caltrans and Union City in 2006, but was significantly delayed by the economic recession of 2008, according to Wieckowski's staff.

"State Highway 84 was a major route that people took before modern freeways were built and that's no longer the case," Fremont Public Works Director Hans Larsen said. "Because they're owned and operated by
Caltrans they're really kind of a secondary priority in terms of upkeep and improvement.

City officials have a number of improvements planned like safer routes for walking to school, more curb ramps that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, updated traffic signals, rebuilt pavement surfaces and various enhancements to the Centerville business district - a project which could begin as soon as 2020 and be completed by 2021.

Larsen said there's a plan in place to provide state funding, and county funds have also been provided for "streetscaping" purposes.

"The city of Fremont looks forward to transforming this old state highway into a new modern street that better serves the needs of our local community," Fremont Mayor Lily Mei said in a statement.

— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock