Trail From Downtown SJ To Alviso Is Complete

Walkers And Bikers Have 9-Mile Guadalupe River Trail

POSTED: 12:36 pm PST January 29, 2008

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- By NBC11's Daniel Garza For years, one big complaint about the Guadalupe River Trail in San Jose was the troublesome construction projects that turned the trail into an obstacle course.

Complain no more, at least about the construction headaches.

The obstacles are gone and now walkers and bicyclists, for the first time ever, have nine miles of unobstructed trail stretching from downtown San Jose to Alviso. Two major projects were completed on Christmas Eve, according to San Jose Trail Network Program Manager Yves Zsutty. "Most people are now just happy to be able to get out to the river."

The new under-crossing at Airport Parkway, which runs along the river's west bank, allows users to cross from east to west without having to deal with traffic. The just-finished Highway 101 under-crossing is now a paved path along the river's east bank, which leads to Gold Street in Alviso. Though the trail is nine miles long, 6.4 miles are unpaved gravel, but still passable. The city coordinated its efforts to complete the trail with the Santa Clara Valley Water District. "The City Council's priority was to get public access to the river as quickly as possible," Zsutty said. "Improvements to the trail will be made over time." So far, federal transportation funds are available to pave about three miles of gravel trail. Funding to pave the remainder of the trail will have to be requested from Congress, according to Zsutty. "People will have a sense of ownership over the river," he said. "They'll be more willing to report litter or any trouble. Greater stewardship is a good thing." Signage was installed along the section of the trail that runs from Highway 880 to Gold Street to guide people along. The city will request money from the state to finish a short section of the trail from Woz Way to Virginia Street at the southern end of downtown. San Jose's trail program consists of a network of 32 trail systems eventually providing 100 miles of trail. For more information, visit sjparks.org/trails.