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Consent-Community Services # 16.
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| Board of Supervisors Meeting |
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| Subject |
| Adopt Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Plan and approve project for the replacement of the County Road 99W over Buckeye Creek Bridge. (No general fund impact) (Echiburu) |
| Recommended Action |
- Approve the Resolution to adopt the Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Plan as the appropriate level of environmental documentation in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and CEQA Guidelines (Attachment A); and
- Approve the project to replace the County Road 99W Bridge over Buckeye Creek Bridge (#22C-0050).
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| Strategic Plan Goal(s) |
Preserve and support agriculture
Protect open space and the environment
Provide fiscally sound, dynamic and responsive services |
| Reason for Recommended Action/Background |
The purpose of the project is to replace the structurally deficient, scour critical bridge with a new bridge that will meet current standards for design, construction, and maintenance. Adoption of the Mitigated Negative Declaration is required for the proposed bridge replacement project on County Road 99W (CR 99W) over Buckeye Creek. The Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) has been prepared to address the environmental impacts associated with the bridge project pursuant to the provisions of CEQA. Compliance with federal law (the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA), is also required to qualify for funding through the Federal Highway Administration. A Categorical Exclusion, in accordance with NEPA, will be prepared by Caltrans for this project.
The most recent Bridge Inspection Report identifies the bridge as scour critical (subject to scouring by creek flows), with exposed footings and potentially unstable foundations. The overall sufficiency rating of the bridge is 48.2 percent, making it eligible for replacement under the Federal Highway Bridge Program. The project is included in the Capital Improvement Project list for Roads and Bridges approved by the Board on August 3, 2010. The environmental phase of the proposed bridge replacement project has been included in Road Fund budgets approved by the Board since FY2011/2012.
County Road 99W runs parallel to Interstate 5 (I-5), but due to its "legal load only" rating, it does not provide adequate redundancy in the event that the northbound or southbound I-5 bridges over Buckeye Creek are closed necessitating detours. The only alternate extra-legal routes involve lengthy detours on local roads and low-water crossings of Buckeye Creek, which are not traversable in storm conditions. Replacement of the Buckeye Creek Bridge will improve transportation redundancy and increase public safety (see Attachment B for project location).
The existing bridge (22C-0050), built in 1918 and widened in 1950, is a two-lane, three-span reinforced concrete T-beam structure that is approximately 108 feet long. The purpose of the project is to replace the structurally deficient, scour critical bridge with a 120-foot long single span, cast-in-place, post-tensioned concrete box girder. The new bridge will provide center stream creek flow access based upon review of current hydraulics. In addition to the longer structure, the roadway profile on the new bridge will also be raised to convey the 50-year storm with two feet of freeboard and the 100-year storm with one foot of freeboard. Buckeye Creek flows seasonally for relatively short periods following large storm events. Otherwise, the creek is dry for extended periods from spring until winter, and rarely flows during summer months.
Environmental Determination
The County has incorporated conservation measures into the project design and is committed to implementing these measures to reduce potential project impacts. These conservation measures are addressed in the Project Description in the Initial Study for the Mitigated Negative Declaration and restated in the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Plan. In addition to implementing these conservation measures, the IS/MND identifies several mitigation measures that will be required to reduce potentially significant impacts. The MMRP describes a program for ensuring the construction measures and mitigation measures are implemented in conjunction with the project.
Because the project involves the use of federal funds administered by the Federal Highway Administration through the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), compliance with NEPA is required, for which Caltrans is the lead agency. The County is the lead agency for CEQA compliance, and has coordinated the environmental review process with Caltrans. Based on the analysis conducted to date, it is anticipated that Caltrans will approve the Categorical Exclusion prepared for the project once the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration prepared in accordance with CEQA Guidelines, has been adopted by the County.
Staff recommends adoption of the Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Plan, including the conservation measures, prepared for the bridge replacement project. |
| Collaborations (including Board advisory groups and external partner agencies) |
| A "Notice of Intent" to adopt the Mitigated Negative Declaration was made available for a 30-day public review and was distributed to interested parties and responsible local, state, and federal agencies from August 18, 2014, through September 18, 2014. An additional 20-day public review commenced on December 10, 2014, and ended on January 5, 2014, to allow for further public comment, particularly with respect to adjacent property owners. No significant comments were received during these review periods and/or since the writing of this staff report. The only comment letter received was from the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, dated September 2, 2014 (Attachment C). Public Works staff outreach also included corresponding with adjacent property owners and making available technical studies, such as creek hydraulics, as requested. |
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| Fiscal Impact |
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| Source of Funds for this Expenditure |
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Explanation (Expenditure and/or Revenue) |
| Further explanation as needed: |
| Costs for environmental clearance are included in the FY014/15 Road Fund budget. Federal transportation funds administered by Caltrans will reimburse 100% of project costs. |
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