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Sunnyvale Infrastructure Project Coming To Fruition

SUNNYVALE (KCBS) _ At a time when most cities are putting infrastructure improvement projects on hold, the city of Sunnyvale is about to complete an ambitious plan that was launched during one of the worst economic recessions.

Sunnyvale Works, which launched last April, was slated to be a $60 million program, but it grew to more than $80 million.

The largest project is the reconstruction of the downtown Mathilda Avenue Bridge.

KCBS' Mike Colgan Reports:

"The ramp that used to exist on this structure only allowed you to get off southbound to westbound Evelyn," said Sunnyvale Public Works Director Marvin Rose. "The new structure will allow, with a loop ramp, to actually access in both directions."

Rose said they were able to accelerate a number of capitol improvement projects thanks to federal funding and lower than expected bids.

"For example, in the concrete projects, when we bid them, the prices on average were 30 percent below what the estimates were," he said. "We could either take that money and put it into another project or we could simply increase quantities. In the concrete projects, we were able to do 30 percent more than we would have otherwise."

The projects have also created hundreds of jobs.

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