Apple Pays To Reduce Congestion Near Its New Spaceship Campus
SANTA CLARA (CBS SF) -- As work continues on Apple's new spaceship headquarters, Apple is partnering with Caltrans to add a new lane to a busy stretch of I-280.
And it won't just benefit Apple workers.
It's a perennial problem spot.
Santa Clara resident Brian Zeitler said of the long lines of cars backing up onto the Interstate at Lawrence Expressway, "It seems to build up -- well, almost all the time."
Zeitler said, "It just pours out onto the freeway. And you get cars backing up as far as the eye can see."
Zeitler said he thinks it's good that Apple is "trying to be pro-active and anticipate problems."
With its massive, spaceship-like new campus finally coming online next year, Apple is funding several construction projects aimed at taming the tangled intersection.
First and foremost, the tech giant is paying to have a new lane added to the northbound off-ramp at Lawrence Expressway.
They'll also work to coordinate the traffic lights in the area to ease congestion.
Drivers say the changes are long overdue.
Driver Lee Faber said, "I don't think we see enough corporate responsibility when it comes to infrastructure. It's not just about jobs. It's about infrastructure and how it weighs on a community and how it changes how a community lives."
Apple agreed to fund more than $70 million in traffic improvements in the area around its campus, which will house more than 10,000 employees.
