To: Board of Supervisors
From: Warren Lai, Public Works Director/Chief Engineer
Report Title: APPROVE the Vasco Road Safety Improvements Project and take related actions under CEQA
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE the Vasco Road Safety Improvements Project (Project) and AUTHORIZE the Public Works Director, or designee, to advertise the Project, Byron area. [County Project No. 0662-6R4100, DCD-CP#23-31] (District III).
DETERMINE the Project is a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Categorical Exemption, pursuant to Article 19, Section 15301(c) of the CEQA Statute and Guidelines, and
DIRECT the Director of Department of Conservation and Development (DCD), or designee, to file a Notice of Exemption (NOE) with the County Clerk, and
AUTHORIZE the Public Works Director, or designee, to arrange for payment of a $25 fee to DCD for processing, and a $50 fee to the County Clerk for filing the NOE.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Estimated Project cost: $941,000. 76% Highway Safety Improvement Program, 24% Local Road Funds.
BACKGROUND:
The purpose of this project is to improve safety and minimize passing related collisions on Vasco Road. This project will install safety improvements which includes constructing an approximately 2.25-mile-long no-passing zone with centerline rumble strip with surface-mounted channelizers and median striping along the Vasco Road median between Walnut Boulevard and Frisk Creek bridge. The existing center median striping will be removed, and the rumble strip will be milled out using a grinding/milling machine and new striping will be applied. The project will also install signal hardware upgrades at the intersections of Vasco Road with Walnut Boulevard and Camino Diablo. The signal hardware will consist of new signal heads with retroreflective borders at all traffic signals. Emergency battery backup systems for traffic signals will be added in existing cabinets at the intersection of Vasco Road with Walnut Boulevard and Camino Diablo. The traffic signal at the corner of Vasco Road/Walnut Boulevard intersection will be relocated further away from the road to better accommodate turning trucks.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Delay in approving the project may result in a delay of design, construction, safety implementation, and may jeopardize funding.