SR 237 Express Lanes Will Not Open Thursday

The new express lanes on SR 237 will not open tomorrow, Thursday, as planned because of recent storms.

Instead, the opening has been postponed 5 a.m. Tuesday. The rain has made it difficult to transportation crews to close the lanes needed to open the express lanes, according to officials with Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. 

The VTA is switching four miles of carpool lanes on 237 at 880 into express lanes, allowing single drivers to use the lanes for a fee. Carpoolers and others now allowed to use the lanes can continue to do so without charge.

The issue is not without controversy. Transportation officials have changed the dotted lines that previously let drivers merge in and out of the lanes at any point to solid, double white lines. Drivers now can only enter and exit the lanes at designated points.

In Milpitas, residents, commuters and even the mayor have expressed their frustration that there is no express lane entry or exit point within city limits. So carpoolers and others who once got on the highway and into the carpool lane now must wait with the rest of traffic for an opening.