Colla’s stunt pressured Gov. Jerry Brown and Caltrans director Adriana Gianturco to finish project
Q: I’m an SJSU urban planning master’s student researching the impacts of freeway construction.
In Scott Herhold’s October 16, 2013, column on Joe Colla and the “Freeway to Nowhere,” he wrote about a photo of Joe Colla on the unfinished freeway. I’ve been searching the Merc archives, hoping to find the image, and so far, have not found it.A: The photograph ran several days after the story first ran. I’m sure that most people don’t recall this great story. Joe Colla was a San Jose city councilman who railed about the then-unfinished overpass at Highway 101 and Interstate 680 in San Jose.
In 1976, San Jose Councilman Joe Colla stood atop the unfinished 280-680-101 interchange in an attempt to prod the state into finishing it. This photo was the consensus pick for “Most Authentically San Jose” in columnist Scott Herhold’s political memorabilia contest. My late father, Michael Kraynick, was the head of the local crane operator union at the time . He was the one who organized and arranged everything to do with the crane and car. True, it was at the request of his good friend, Joe Colla, but it was my father who made this stunt happen. He and his fellow union members worked through the night and took the real risks in this adventure.
No debate from me that Mr. Colla then went forward after this stunt to rally against Gov. Jerry Brown and Sacramento, as you reported.A: I received emails and calls about what really happened when a Chevy was hoisted onto the unfinished overpass and Colla’s photo taken standing next to the car. Read Scott Herhold’sThe caper brought national attention to California’s highway problems and put pressure on Caltrans director Adriana Gianturco and then-Gov. Brown to complete the unfinished project.
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