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VTA Completes Route 87 Planting Project Early

More Than 800Trees Planted Help the Environment

Release Number:	nr 09 10 08
Release Date:	Oct 22, 2009

                   

San Jose, Calif. — The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) completed a 6.5 mile landscape project along the Route 87 Highway two months ahead of schedule. The beautification project which began in August 2008 includes replacement planting, automatic irrigation systems, and erosion control work. The project finalizes investments previously made in the corridor as part of the Route 87 High Occupancy Vehicles (HOV) Lane Projects.
  
The new landscaping is featured along Route 87 from Branham Lane to Virginia Street, from Auzerais Avenue to Julian Street in downtown San Jose, and at four primary interchanges: Capitol Expressway, Curtner Avenue, Almaden and Julian Streets. In addition to supplementing existing landscaping and adding 800 new trees, shrubs and ground cover to allow for large canopy trees, the planting also provides enhanced environmental benefits such as filtering vehicular emissions, reducing greenhouse gases and sediment erosion control.
 
“Not only was this project completed early, it exemplifies VTA’s goals of providing environmentally responsible efforts,” said VTA General Manager Michael T. Burns.

The Route 87 Planting Project includes improvements to the adjacent bike path corridor, specifically plantings and fence improvements at trail access points. The project’s landscape development was completed in cooperation with the City of San Jose and Caltrans. The project also involved mitigation planting near the Guadalupe River, from the Route 87 HOV Lane Projects. The project capital cost totals $4.6 million. As part of the project conditions, the contractor will maintain the plants for three years and turn over the project to Caltrans in October of 2012.

As Santa Clara County’s Congestion Management Agency (CMA), VTA is responsible for implementing the Valley Highway Program. Responsibilities of the CMA include design oriented highway planting programs whose goal is to provide more environmentally sustainable, greener and aesthetically pleasing highway corridors throughout the valley.

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About VTA

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is an independent special
district that provides sustainable, accessible, community-focused transportation options that are innovative, environmentally responsible, and promote the vitality
of our region.  VTA is responsible for bus, light rail and paratransit operations; congestion management; specific highway improvement projects; countywide transportation planning and provides these services throughout the county including the cities of Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga and Sunnyvale.  VTA continually builds partnerships to deliver transportation solutions that meet the evolving mobility needs of Santa Clara County

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