HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 02232010 - SD.13RECOMMENDATION(S):
ACCEPT report on Phase 1 of the State Route 239 Project, AUTHORIZE the District III
Supervisor to send letters to San Joaquin County, Alameda County, cities and transportation
agencies regarding the project, and AUTHORIZE staff to begin work on the project.
FISCAL IMPACT:
NONE to the General Fund. The County has received federal authorizations totalling $14
million for the planning and development of State Route 239. Phase 1 will cost an estimated
$3.7 million. The cost will be covered by the federal earmarks received for the 239 project
and 20 percent local matching funds provided by the County Road Fund.
BACKGROUND:
Contra Costa County has received $14 million in federal funding authorization for planning,
environmental review and development of State Route 239, sometimes referred to as the
Brentwood-Tracy Expressway. State Route 239 is defined in California Streets and
Highway Code as a state highway connecting State Route 4 near Brentwood to Interstate
205 near Tracy. The County
APPROVE OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
Action of Board On: 02/23/2010 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
Clerks Notes:
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
AYE:John Gioia, District I
Supervisor
Gayle B. Uilkema, District II
Supervisor
Mary N. Piepho, District III
Supervisor
Susan A. Bonilla, District IV
Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V
Supervisor
Contact: John Greitzer
335-1201
I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board
of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: February 23, 2010
David J. Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
By: June McHuen, Deputy
cc:
SD.13
To:Board of Supervisors
From:Catherine Kutsuris, Conservation & Development Director
Date:February 23, 2010
Contra
Costa
County
Subject:State Route 239 Project, Phase 1
BACKGROUND: (CONT'D)
formally applied for state and federal authorization to use the funds a year ago. On
January 21, 2010 we finally received formal authorization to use the funds and begin
Phase 1 of the project, which is the Planning Phase. After Phase 1 is complete, the
project will move into Phase 2, which is the environmental review process, and finally
Phase 3 which consists of engineering and design, right-of-way acquisition and
construction. Substantially more funding will be needed for construction.
The County requested the federal funding after years of asking Caltrans to start planning
the route, to no avail. Since the route was not a high priority for Caltrans, the County
sought and received federal funding for a planning process that will involve San Joaquin
County, Alameda County, Brentwood, Tracy and Livermore, numerous transportation
agencies and special districts, businesses, and community groups. This request is
consistent with recommendations of the Altamont Interregional Corridor Study prepared
by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission in 1996. Caltrans will be a key
participant in the process, since the route is ultimately intended to be a state highway.
This local, collaborative process to develop a future state highway is similar to the model
that was used to develop the new segment of State Route 4 in Antioch, Oakley and
Brentwood, currently known as the State Route 4 Bypass. The County and the Cities of
Antioch, Brentwood and Oakley formed a joint powers agency to finance, design and
build the Bypass to Caltrans standards so it could become part of the Caltrans state
highway system. That route is now in the process of being accepted by Caltrans as State
Route 4.
The County has seen an increase in traffic between southeastern Contra Costa and the
Tracy area, particularly truck traffic, but we lack the road system to handle it. The only
two roads linking Contra Costa County and San Joaquin County are Byron Highway and
State Route 4 through the Delta. Both are rural, undivided two-lane roads, not capable of
effectively moving the traffic that we see now and expect in the future.
State Route 239 can serve several important needs for eastern Contra Costa County. It
will aid in general traffic circulation in that part of the county, help promote economic
development at Byron Airport, absorb truck traffic which is currently disruptive to the
community of Byron, and provide some potential congestion relief to I-580 which is one
of the Bay Area's most congested freeways. The existing Byron Highway likely is one of
the alternative routes that will be looked at in the Phase 1 planning process, along with
other alternatives that will be identified as planning ensues. The County General Plan
supports development of a new expressway-type road connecting Brentwood with points
southwest of the county line. Development of State Route 239 is also acknowledged in
the East Contra Costa Habitat Conservation Plan/Natural Communities Conservation Plan.
Attached as Exhibit A is the project background and preliminary scope of work that was
part of our authorization submittal to Caltrans. This provides a general description of the
project and how Phase 1 will be carried out. It is subject to change as a consultant team is
recruited and works on a final work scope.
Exhibit B is a letter for signature by the District III Supervisor, to be sent to the
participating counties, cities, districts, transportation agencies and other entities. The
letter may be customized a bit for particular recipients as needed, but it will be
substantially similar to the letter shown in Exhibit B.
The Board is asked to accept this report, authorize the letter from the District III
Supervisor, and authorize staff to begin working on the project.
The Department of Conservation and Development will be the lead department for Phase
1 (planning) and Phase 2 (environmental review) . The Public Works Department will
take the lead on Phase 3 (project development).
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
The State Route 239 Project will be delayed, posing some risk of losing the federal funds.
ATTACHMENTS
Summary process SR 239
letter supervisor piepho
Contra Costa County Federal Earmark Project -- SR 239
(TIP ID: CC-070019)
February 17, 2009
Objective: The objective of the project is to study development of the State Route
(SR) 239 corridor. The corridor is defined in state statute “from Route
580 west of Tracy to Route 4 near Brentwood,” and in the federal earmark
language “from State Route 4 in Brentwood area to I-205 in Tracy area.”
Determination of the future owner-operator of any constructed corridor
facility would be pending completion of the study effort.
Phasing: The project will be divided into three phases: 1) Planning; 2) Project
Approval/Environmental Document, and 3) Project Development.
Phase 1 – Planning Phase, including Phases 1A and 1B. Phase 1A will
include stakeholder identification, outreach, establishing a multi-
jurisdictional partnership to oversee the process, and technical analysis
and consensus building on a range of alternatives and ultimately consensus
on a preferred alignment for SR 239. The analysis will examine different
road classifications as well, such as a regional or county-level expressway,
and alternative institutional strategies to build, operate and maintain the
roadway. Key outcomes of Phase 1A will be the multi-county partnership
and a Feasibility Study, which will analyze a range of alternatives and
result in a preferred alignment. This planning-level study will lead into
Phase 1B, which will develop a Project Study Report or similar
programming document.
Phase 1B will develop a Project Study Report (PSR), based on the
preferred alignment developed through the Feasibility Study in Phase 1A.
This phase will be conducted by the consultant team and will meet
Caltrans standards, procedures and formatting for a PSR.
We expect to use $3.2 million in earmark funds for Phase 1 (see attached
work scope).
Phase 2 -- Project Approval/Environmental Document (PA/ED) Phase,
which will include environmental clearance under the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental
Protection Act (NEPA). We expect to use approximately $3.8 million in
earmark funds for Phase 2. Amore precise cost estimate will be developed
at the close of Phase 1.
Phase 3 -- the Project Development Phase including design, engineering,
and as much right-of-way acquisition and construction as funding allows.
We expect to use approximately $7 million in earmark funds for Phase 3.
A more precise cost estimate will be developed at the close of Phase 2.
A task-by-task Work Scope beings on the next page.
Contra Costa County
SR 239 Federal Earmark Project
2
Work Scope:
Contra Costa County Federal Earmark Project -- SR 239 (TIP ID: CC-070019)
Phase 1 -- Planning
This first phase of the project includes stakeholder identification and outreach,
developing an inter-agency structure for the process, extensive background research,
technical analyses, production of a Feasibility Study that will examine a broad range of
alternatives and result in consensus on a preferred alignment for State Route (SR) 239,
and development of a Project Study Report (PSR) based on the preferred alignment
identified in the Feasibility Study.
Phase 1A
Task 1. Identify and contact stakeholders for the three-county project area (Contra Costa,
San Joaquin and Alameda Counties). Task budget: $10,000
Potential stakeholders include the cities and counties, Caltrans District 4 and District 10,
state and federal resource agencies and transportation agencies, public transit providers,
councils of government, community groups, issue-oriented advocacy groups, and others.
Attachment 1 lists the potential stakeholders identified to date, but it is anticipated
additional stakeholders will be identified as the process moves forward. This task will
include expanding and completing the stakeholder list as needed, and identifying any
issues or concerns each of the stakeholders has regarding the SR 239 corridor as
statutorily defined.
Deliverable 1: Final list of stakeholders and initial issues statements.
Task 2. Initiate outreach program and develop an inter-agency institutional structure to
serve as a steering group for the project.. Task budget: $60,000
Convene the initial stakeholders group. The stakeholders group will determine the best
structure for a project steering group. This could be a formal structure such as a Joint
Exercise of Powers Agency similar to the State Route 4 Bypass Authority that was
created to oversee construction of the State Route 4 Bypass in eastern Contra Costa
County, or it could be a less formal structure such as a steering committee based on a
memorandum of understanding. The task budget of $60,000 assumes the highest-cost
structure, which would be the creation of a Joint Exercise of Powers Agency. This
alternative will require substantial legal assistance. A technical advisory committee also
will be created as part of this task.
Deliverable 2: Document creating the institutional structure for a steering group,
such as a Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement.
Contra Costa County
SR 239 Federal Earmark Project
3
Task 3. Select Project Consultant or team of consultants and initiate consultant work.
Task budget: $30,000
Phase 1 will require a combination of skills including, but not limited to, general
transportation planning, highway engineering, community outreach, technical analysis
such as travel demand forecasting and geographic information systems (GIS) capability,
knowledge of transportation funding sources, and familiarity with the state’s process for
developing and adopting new state highways. Given the wide range of skills that will be
required, it is expected that a team of consulting firms will be hired rather than one
individual firm. The interagency steering group create in Task 2 will be asked to
participate in selecting the consultant team. The consultant team will be involved in all
remaining tasks shown in this Scope of Work.
One of the consultant’s first tasks will be to assist in the development of a Public
Participation Program, which will identify how and when input will be received from
community groups and individuals who are not part of the interagency steering group or
the Technical Advisory Committee. The Public Participation Program will be subject to
approval by the interagency steering group. The Public Participation Program must offer
adequate opportunity for all interested parties to participate, including individuals who
are not members of any organized interested group or public agency.
Deliverable 3-1: Consultant contract for Phase 1 including detailed consultant
work scope.
Deliverable 3-2: Public Participation Program
Task 4. Conduct Feasibility Study on SR 239 in the context of the regional highway
network. Task budget: $1,000,000
This task will involve background research, development of a set of alternative
alignments, technical analyses, public outreach, consensus-building on the role that SR
239 should serve in the context of the regional and interregional highway networks, and
consensus on a preferred alignment for the route. The preferred alignment will be carried
forward for further analysis through a PSR, which is the next task. SR 239 will serve
several functions in the interregional network. For example, SR 239 could serve as a
new truck route for freight; a stimulus for economic development in the region’s
industrial areas; a reliever for some I-580 interregional traffic between the Central Valley
and Bay Area; a route for commuters in future growth areas such as Mountain House; or
a quicker higher-capacity route from existing regional roads to the Central Valley
highway network. This task will take into account the adopted general plans and policies
of the affected jurisdictions and agencies, and other relevant plans and studies that have
been completed. The function and purpose of SR 239 will be evaluated in relation to the
surrounding State Highway System including I-5, I-580, SR 4, unconstructed SR 84
(Vasco Road), and other relevant local routes.
A major early part of this task will be the development of a travel demand forecasting
model that can be used to develop traffic forecasts for the multi-county region. This
model may incorporate aspects of the existing models of the San Joaquin Council of
Contra Costa County
SR 239 Federal Earmark Project
4
Governments, the Contra Costa Transportation Authority, and the Metropolitan
Transportation Commission.
The consultant team will use all of the background information, travel demand model and
other data to develop a set of alternative alignments for the highway, and will perform
comprehensive analysis, including travel demand forecasting, identifying likely
environmental issues (not to CEQA-level detail) and fatal flaws, cost/benefit analysis,
and other analysis as necessary to determine the preferred alternative for further study.
The Feasibility Study will include information on any already-planned or anticipated
improvements to the highway network, and identify funding opportunities for the SR 239
project. Travel forecasts will take into account growth in both freight and non-freight
transportation. Opportunities for public-private partnerships and toll financing will be
evaluated. Modal factors will be included in the analysis (transit, bicycle, pedestrian,
high-occupancy vehicle and park-and-ride considerations).
In addition to potential alignments, alternative design standards will be evaluated, such as
whether the facility could be built as a State Highway, County Expressway, or other
roadway classification. The advantages and disadvantages of each design will be
analyzed and reported in the study, including the capacities, costs, timeframes for design
and construction, and right-of-way needs for each type of design.
The travel demand forecasting will include an analysis of the impacts of any proposed
new interchanges on existing state routes, in terms of level of service, weaving, and
capacity to accommodate high volumes of departing and arriving traffic.
The analysis also will examine different institutional strategies for building, operating
and maintaining the facility (including the State Route 4 Bypass model, in which local
interests funded and built the facility to Caltrans design standards, and then relinquished
the highway to Caltrans).
Deliverables 4-1-a through 4-1-x: Travel demand forecasting model and all
necessary supporting documentation, to be determined. Typically this
documentation includes, at a minimum, a thorough description of how the model
was developed and the transportation and land use assumptions on which it is
based, a list of all data sources and description of any changes that were made to
the data including the reasons and methodology used, description of the model
calibration and validation process, and a users’ manual.
Deliverable 4-2-a through 4-2-x: Feasibility Study and all necessary supporting
technical documentation, to be determined by the interagency steering group and
the consultant(s).
Deliverable 4-3: Report addressing the Route Adoption Process, should the
State agree to incorporate the facility into the State Highway System
Phase 1B
Task 5: Prepare Project Study Report for SR 239. Task budget: $2.6 million
Contra Costa County
SR 239 Federal Earmark Project
5
The PSR will be performed on the “build” alignment identified in the Feasibility Study
and will be developed to Caltrans’ standards to ensure it can be used for Phase 2 of the
Federal Earmark project, which will be the Project Approval/Environment Document
(PA/ED) Phase. The PSR will be prepared to meet state requirements as described in the
Caltrans Project Development Procedures Manual. The PSR will be based on policy
guidance provided by the interagency steering group, thorough technical analysis
performed by the consultant team and vetted by the Technical Advisory Committee, and
any other relevant information. The PSR will define the project and provide cost
estimates and a Funding and Implementation Plan for full buildout of the preferred
alternative for SR 239.
Deliverables 5-1-a through 5-1-x: Reports and technical memoranda as needed
Deliverable 5-2: Project Study Report for the State Route 239 Corridor
Task-by-task schedule and budget
Task Completion
Estimated
task cost
Earmark
funding
Local
match
(88.5%) (11.5%)
1. Stakeholder identification Jan-09 $10,000 $8,850 $1,150
2. Develop institutional structure * Sep-09 $60,000 $53,100 $6,900
3. Consultant selection / project
initialization Jan-10 $30,000 $26,550 $3,450
4. Feasibility Study ** Dec-10 $1,000,000 $885,000 $115,000
5. Project Study Report Dec-11 $2,600,000 $2,301,000 $299,000
Totals Dec-11 $3,700,000 $3,274,500 $425,500
* -- For Task 2, the timeline for completion and estimated task cost assume the structure will
be a Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement, which will require legal assistance and will take
longer to formalize than less formal structures because it will require approval by the
governing bodies of all participating jurisdictions and agencies, and development of
governing procedures, a system for voting and taking actions, and other operating details. If
a less complex structure is selected, the time for completion and task cost likely will be less.
** -- Task 4 includes the development of a travel demand forecasting model that will be used
for the Feasibility Study and for the Project Study Report in Task 5.
Contra Costa County
SR 239 Federal Earmark Project
6
List of potential stakeholders identified for SR 239 Federal Earmark Project
One of the early tasks in this project will be the creation of a Public Participation
Program, which will enable all interested parties the opportunity to provide input,
regardless of whether they are with an organized group or not.
There are many potential stakeholders and participants, some known and some not yet
known to us. The list below is only a preliminary list, focusing on government agencies
and organized interest groups that are known to Contra Costa County staff. It is expected
that many more stakeholders will be identified and contacted through the public
participation program, particularly stakeholders in San Joaquin and Alameda Counties.
Alameda County
Alameda County Congestion Management Agency
Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG)
Bay Area Air Quality Management District
BART
Bishop Ranch Business Park
Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust
Byron Airport (Contra Costa County Public Works Dept.)
Byron Municipal Advisory Council
California Highway Patrol
California State Automobile Association
Caltrans District 4 and District 10
Chambers of Commerce (Livermore, Brentwood, San Joaquin jurisdictions’ chambers)
Cities of Antioch, Brentwood, and Oakley in Contra Costa County
City of Livermore in Alameda County
City of Tracy in San Joaquin County
Clifton Forebay—California Water Project
Congressional District 10 and District 11 Offices
Contra Costa Council
Contra Costa County
Contra Costa County Agricultural Task Force
Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA)
Discovery Bay Community Services District
East Bay Economic Development Association
East Contra Costa Fire Protection District
East Contra Costa County Habitat Conservation Plan Association
Farm Bureau
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Hacienda Business Park
Harvest Time (non-profit based in Brentwood)
Knightsen Town Advisory Council
Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC)
Mountain House Community Services District
Port of Stockton
Property Owners
Contra Costa County
SR 239 Federal Earmark Project
7
Resource agencies (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, CA Department of Fish and Game)
Safeway
San Joaquin Council of Governments (SJCOG)
San Joaquin County
San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission (ACE Train—Altamont Commuter Express)
San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District
Save Mount Diablo
State Legislators’ Offices
Tri Delta Transit
Tri Valley Business Council
Tribal governments
TRANSPLAN Committee (transportation coordinating group for eastern Contra Costa
jurisdictions)
Trucking industry
Union Pacific Railroad
Utility districts
Mary N. Piepho
Supervisor, District III
181 Sand Creek Road, Suite L
Brentwood, CA 94513
February 23, 2010
Dear (County Board Chair, City Mayor, Executive Director):
I am pleased to inform you that Contra Costa County has received state and federal
authorization to proceed with a collaborative planning process regarding the future State
Route 239, which will link eastern Contra Costa County with San Joaquin County.
On behalf of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, I would like to invite you to
work with us on planning this important multi-county transportation corridor.
SR 239 has been listed as a future state highway for decades, but no planning has yet
been done to determine the route’s alignment or characteristics. Contra Costa County has
experienced significant growth in traffic between eastern Contra Costa and the Tracy
area, particularly in terms of commercial truck traffic, but we lack the road system to
handle it. There only are two roads linking eastern Contra Costa County with San
Joaquin County – Byron Highway and State Route 4 through the Delta -- and they are
both rural undivided two-lane roads.
To address the problem Contra Costa County applied for and received federal funds
totaling $14 million to work on a multi-county planning process for SR 239 that will
involve local jurisdictions and transportation agencies as well as Caltrans’ Bay Area and
San Joaquin regional offices. The process will be truly collaborative with all jurisdictions
working as equal partners. This will provide us the opportunity to work together to
determine an appropriate alignment for State Route 239, how many lanes it should have,
how it will fit with the land use and growth policies of the cities and counties along the
way, and other important factors.
We will contact your staff in the very near future to discuss the process in more detail. In
the meantime, if you have questions, please feel free to contact me.
I look forward to working with you on this long-awaited highway project.
Sincerely,
Supervisor Mary N. Piepho
District III