To: Board of Supervisors
From: Warren Lai, Public Works Director/Chief Engineer
Report Title: Memorandum of Understanding between the California Department of Transportation, Contra Costa Transportation Authority and Local Agencies
Recommendation: Recommendation of the County Administrator
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Public Works Director, or designee, to execute a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA), the cities of Concord, Martinez, Pleasant Hill, San Ramon and Walnut Creek, and the Town of Danville to establish the I-680 Corridor Ramp Metering Project's goals, policies, governance structure, and the responsibilities for each local agency, effective as of the date of the last signature. (Districts II, IV & V)
FISCAL IMPACT:
No fiscal impact. The MOU explicitly states that it imposes no direct financial obligation on local jurisdictions. Capital costs and operating costs for ramp metering infrastructure are funded by Caltrans and CCTA with secured fund sources.
BACKGROUND:
The Interstate 680 (I-680) corridor is a major transportation feature of Contra Costa County. I-680 provides a six- to ten-lane major north-south freeway for approximately 25 miles through Contra Costa County. I-680 is functionally classified as an Urban Principal Arterial-Interstate Freeway and is considered a Lifeline Highway route along the entire length of the interstate freeway. The segment of I-680 within Contra Costa County includes 24 local service interchanges and 3 major State Route (SR) system interchanges with SR24 in Walnut Creek, SR 242 in Pleasant Hill, and SR 4 in Pacheco. Congestion during the peak hours results in travel times approximately double those of the non-peak times. Future projections indicate travel times to traverse the corridor during peak hours will continue to increase significantly.
CCTA’s Innovate 680 Program was developed to alleviate congestion along the corridor. The Program consists of the following six projects:
• Northbound (NB) I-680 Express Lane Completion;
• Transit Bus on Shoulder (TBOS);
• Shared Mobility Hubs (SMH);
• Advanced Technologies: Coordinated Adaptive Ramp Metering (CARM) and Coordinated Adaptive Traffic Signals (CATS);
• Automated Driving System (ADS); and
• Mobility as a Service/Mobility on Demand (MOD).
Each of the 6 projects plays an important role in an integrated approach and, when operating together, will maximize the efficiency of the I-680 Corridor with secondary operational benefits to connecting State highways and local arterials.
Environmental considerations, as well as physical and financial constraints, do not allow for further significant capacity increase to accommodate the increase in traffic demand. As such, Caltrans, CCTA, and the jurisdictions along the corridor are collaborating as part of the Innovate 680 Program to improve operations through an integrated suite of strategic corridor improvements.
This MOU summarizes the goals, policies, processes, and procedures intended to be followed by all parties working together in a coordinated manner to enhance traffic operations through the implementation of ramp metering (RM) along the I-680 corridor in Contra Costa County. This MOU is intended to identify the overall commitment and responsibilities regarding ownership, operations, and maintenance of the various equipment installed as part of both the Innovate 680 CARM Pilot Project and the Caltrans I-680 Ramp Metering - State Highway Operations and Protection Program (SHOPP) Project. This MOU also serves as a foundation of how future ramp meters will be operated in the corridor. This MOU is a non-legally binding document.
The following entities are parties to this MOU:
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA), Contra Costa County (County), the cities of Concord, Martinez, Pleasant Hill, San Ramon and Walnut Creek, and the Town of Danville.
In addition, Caltrans and CCTA will prepare a Ramp Metering Operation and Maintenance Procedures (RMOMP). The RMOMP is intended to be a living document and includes provisions that are often referred to as Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). It will also provide the foundation for an Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Agreement between Caltrans and CCTA.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
The County will not be a party to the MOU nor work together with other agencies to enhance traffic operations through the implementation of ramp metering along the I-680 corridor