Agenda Item Wording:
title
Consideration and direction regarding an update to the Caltrans Lovers Lane Roadway Rehabilitation and Operational Improvements Project at State Route 198.
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Deadline for Action: None.
Submitting Department: Administration - CIP Engineering
Contact Name and Phone Number:
Rebecca Keenan, Senior Civil Engineer, rebecca.keenan@visalia.city, 713-4541
Frank Senteno, City Engineer, frank.senteno@visalia.city, 713-4331
Nick Mascia, Assistant City Manager, nick.mascia@visalia.city, 713-4323
Hussein Senan, Caltrans Project Manager, hussein.senan@dot.ca.gov, (559) 243-3586
Department Recommendation:
Staff recommends that the City Council receiver the presentation from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) regarding the Caltrans Lovers Lane Roadway Rehabilitation (along SR 216) and Operational Improvements at the State Route 198 Interchange.
Summary:
City Staff and Caltrans last updated the City Council regarding the Lovers Lane (SR 216) Roadway Rehabilitation and Operational Improvements project at the May 3, 2021, meeting. Since that meeting, the project has progressed into the Plans, Specifications, and Estimates (PS&E) and Right of Way (R/W) phase. The purpose of this agenda item is to update the Council on progress made, and to follow up on the Council’s request that Caltrans consider a hybrid geometric layout at E. Mineral King Avenue and S. Lovers Lane.
Background Discussion:
City staff and Caltrans have worked to identify possible improvements to the Lovers Lane Interchange at State Route 198 since 2015. Ultimate layouts were developed, however, to meet current Caltrans design standards, the ultimate project would require considerable amounts of right of way and would significantly impact the surrounding businesses and residences. The acquisition and improvements would result in exorbitant costs, estimated at over $60 million in 2015 dollars. Therefore, the City Council authorized staff to work with Caltrans to pursue a more cost-effective interim solution; and in October 2015, the City Manager executed a Cooperative Agreement with Caltrans to prepare a Project Initiation Document (PID) for an interim solution to enhance operations at the Lovers Lane Interchange. Operational improvements were (and are) supported by Caltrans because there is a new interchange proposed to be constructed 5000 feet east of Lovers Lane, at the Tower Street alignment (Road 148). Given this, the PID document for the Lovers Lane operational improvements was completed in 2017, and identified three possible near-term alternatives (Alternative 1A, Alternative 1B, and No Build Alternative) that were presented to the community at a public meeting held on May 26, 2016, at the Mineral King Elementary School.
Following the public meeting and comments received, Caltrans began the Project Approval and Environmental Document (PA&ED) phase to continue the exploration of Alternatives 1A & 1B, and further develop the project in terms of constructability, cost effectiveness, comments received, and other local needs & constraints. Both alternatives would achieve the goal of restoring the facility to a state of good repair, improve traffic flow, address current and future traffic operation needs, and alleviate congestion. However, Alternative 1B would also close the access connecting E. Mineral King Avenue to Lovers Lane and thereby create more storage for traffic at both westbound State Route 198 off and on ramps.
As presented to the City Council on May 3, 2021, the PA&ED phase concluded last year, when Caltrans issued the Initial Study with Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration/Environmental Assessment on March 5, 2021, for public comments. The comment period ended on April 5, 2021, and Caltrans did not receive any comments from the public during that period. Caltrans did receive comments from a resident a few weeks after the update to Council, in June 2021. That resident expressed concern about the possible closure of E. Mineral King Avenue, particularly regarding anticipated impacts to pedestrians and the disabled community. The Caltrans representative took note of the concerns and included them in the team’s process to select the project Alternative to be carried into the design phase. Also, at the last City Council update, Caltrans advised that Alternative 1A was less desirable because the analysis indicated that it would fail in 10 years. That factor weighed heavily on the selection of the final alternative because it means that the number of vehicles per lane, per mile, would increase, resulting in spillage onto the freeway, and a back-up on the freeway.
Caltrans reviewed both Alternatives with their various functional units and selected Alternative 1B as the preferred alternative. The functional units considered project elements, such as traffic operations, maintenance, right of way impacts, private property impacts, utility impacts, hydraulic engineering, landscaping, impacts to structures, sustainability, schedule, funding, and complete streets requirements in making the final selection. The process identified some areas of concern with both alternatives, however, the final tally revealed stronger support for the project following Alternative 1B. The process also identified the need to provide connectivity from E. Mineral King Avenue to Loves Lane, in order to meet the State’s goal (SB99) of increasing active modes of transportation such as biking and walking.
In addition, at the May 3, 2021, meeting, Council requested that Caltrans consider a hybrid layout to possibly allow limited access to Lovers Lane from E. Mineral King Avenue. From the last City Council meeting through November 2021, Caltrans proceeded with the additional traffic analysis required for the mainline freeway and the on/off ramps. Part of the analysis included the review of a way to create a hybrid layout to allow traffic from E. Mineral King Avenue to continue to access Lovers Lane in the northeast quadrant. Unfortunately, Caltrans was not able to develop a hybrid layout that will allow vehicular traffic to access Lovers Lane from E. Mineral King Avenue because maintaining access from E Mineral King Ave to Lovers Lane, while implementing the proposed scope to the westbound on and off ramps, would result in a larger project footprint well beyond the existing right of way. The changes would be significant enough to require further environmental studies, additional right of way, added time, and extra funding needs. It is expected that a new Environmental Document would add an additional 12-18 months to the current schedule. The additional cost is estimated at $5.8 million (which is comprised of approximately $1.9 million in construction capital and $3.9 million for right of way). The consequential delays and additional cost would render the project unfeasible within the current SHOPP cycle.
However, Caltrans is exploring means to incorporate a multi-use trail to allow pedestrian, bicyclist, and other non-vehicular traffic access to Lovers Lane. The trail would allow local area residents to continue to access the north/south corridor, despite elimination of the E. Mineral King Avenue vehicular connection.
Next Steps:
Caltrans will continue to work on the Plans, Specifications, and Estimates (PS&E) and the Right of Way (RW) Phase of the project. Those two phases are expected to conclude in 2023, with the project progressing according to the following schedule:
|
Project Milestone |
Milestone Completion Date |
|
Right of Way acquisition complete |
04/2023 |
|
PS&E Design complete |
05/2023 |
|
Advertise for Construction |
07/2023 |
|
Construction to Begin |
10/2023 |
|
Construction Complete |
01/2025 |
Fiscal Impact:
There is no fiscal impact at this time. This project is currently programmed in the Caltrans 2020 State Highway Operation and Protection Program (SHOPP) for a total of $26,300,000.00, which includes Construction (capital and support) and Right of Way (support). In addition, the Tulare County Association of Governments (TCAG) has committed to contribute up to $1.5M to the construction of the project, as needed.
Prior Council Action:
May 3, 2021 - Council received a presentation and provided comments regarding the Caltrans Lovers Lane Roadway Rehabilitation and Operational Improvements Project concluding the Project Approval and Environmental Document (PA&ED) phase at the State Route 198 Interchange.
Other:
None
Alternatives:
None
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
No motion required.
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Environmental Assessment Status:
None
CEQA Review:
Initial Study with Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration/Environmental Assessment prepared by the State of California Department of Transportation, dated March 2021.
Attachments:
1. Location Map
2. Presentation