San Mateo County's Middlefield Road Construction Reaches Milestone

REDWOOD CITY, CA —San Mateo County provided an update Thursday on the Middlefield Road Improvement Project, which involves road reconfiguration and the creation of safer and more welcoming streets.

The $25 million project began in May 2021 and the majority of work is scheduled to be completed in December, according to the county's Department of Public Works.

Middlefield Road is one of the Peninsula's major arteries, it begins in downtown Redwood City on its northern end and passes through the unincorporated area of North Fair Oaks and then on through Atherton and Menlo Park and into Santa Clara County.

The current project includes reconstruction through North Fair Oaks.

According to the county, the first new sidewalks along Middlefield Road have opened, and new street light poles have been installed. The county said the developments mark a milestone in the project.

"With the new sidewalks open, this is the first opportunity for everyone to get a feel for what the finished project will look like," San Mateo County Supervisor Warren Slocum said. "We have now crossed over from concept to reality."

The project also includes:

• Reconfiguring Middlefield Road between Pacific Avenue and 5th Avenue from four to three lanes, one travel lane in each direction with a center left-turn lane
• Undergrounding utilities
• Adding bike lanes
• Widening sidewalks
• Creating spaces for parallel parking
• Adding street features like benches, trees and landscaping, more streetlights, trash receptacles, street art and public spaces
• Integrating "smart" technology into features such as connected street lights, digital signage, traffic monitoring and pedestrian analytics

Businesses along Middlefield Road will continue to remain open during construction. To keep shoppers and workers safe, pedestrian areas have been well marked and separated from active construction by barriers, according to the county.

San Mateo County officials said that one of the final phases of the project —after most of the other work is done in December — will involve utility companies like PG&E, Comcast, AT&T, Verizon and Open 5G removing their overhead cables and energizing their underground lines. At that point, the county will remove the joint utility poles that previously connected those lines.

The Middlefield Road Improvement Project, according to San Mateo County, is being funded by the county's Measure K half-cent sales tax ($12.5 million), utility companies ($8.3 million) and other sources.