A sink hole on Montague Expressway, in the west bound lane east of Trade Zone, emerged Friday, January 11, evening. The two lanes initially impacted were closed to traffic overnight. Upon further evaluation in the morning of January 12, a larger underground issue was discovered, causing the immediate closure of the full three westbound lanes of Montague beginning at Trade Zone, with detours through the neighborhood. The public is asked to avoid the area as emergency repair is underway, which is expected to last throughout the weekend. In addition, an impacted water line is also in the process of being shut down to allow for the safe repair of the City’s utilities in the area, and an evaluation of impacts to local residents and business is underway.
The expressway is a county road and as such, the County of Santa Clara Roads and Airports Department is the lead agency on the repair, in coordination with the City of Milpitas Public Works department. This location, just next to the railroad tracks, has a number of underground utilities , including the City’s water and sewer lines, along with Pacific Gas and Electric utility lines. An interagency team was quickly assembled, including Union Pacific representatives. After team evaluation, the County mobilized a construction firm to fully excavate the area impacted by the sink hole, to perform an emergency repair of the City’s utility lines.
The City of Milpitas extends appreciation to the County, and other utility partners, for their quick response to the issue and also to the public for their cooperation in avoiding the area and patience as the emergency work is conducted.
Updates will be made to the City’s website at www.milpitas.gov and social media accounts (Facebook @CityofMilpitas and Twitter @MilpitasCity) throughout the weekend.
