The Yolo County Board of Supervisors received an update on the second phase of the County Road 98 Bike Improvement and Safety Project last week.
Phase two of the project extends improvements southward from the first phase of work done to CR 98, which was completed back in 2014. According to Yolo County's Principal Civil Engineer Todd Riddiough, phase two will begin approximately 1,300 feet south of County Road 29 and extend just over four miles south toward the Solano County line.
Riddiough explained that planned improvements include road reconstruction, the widening of bike lanes and the installation of roundabouts at County Road 31, County Road 32 and Hutchison Drive. Constructing the road widening between Solano County and Hutchison Drive, including the Hutchison Drive roundabout, is estimated to cost approximately $7 million, which is covered by $8.7 million in existing grant funding received by the county for construction.
However, the total cost of all the improvements is estimated to be $37.1 million, leaving a hefty funding gap that needs to be met in order to complete the entire project. So far, the county has not been successful in pursuing grant funding to fill the remaining gap. Riddiough explained that they believe small-sized, phased construction projects may give the county a better chance to compete for limited funding sources rather than asking for the full remaining amount.
"We have to do something to have these grant funding opportunities look at us and think, hey, this is a viable project and that's why we are coming to you today," Riddiough emphasized. "We have $8 million for construction. If we look at doing a modified phasing where we do one portion of this four miles and complete that portion and have a successful construction and successful demonstration of a roundabout in Yolo County, that we think will help us tell our story better and be more attractive to grant funding parties when we go to them."
This southernmost section also includes a right-of-way acquisition, mostly necessary from UC Davis, who is a partner on the project. The university has already agreed to provide the needed project area as part of its project contribution. The phasing proposal would then allow staff additional time for the county's right-of-way team to work with other property owners to address project concerns while the UC Davis right-of-way acquisition sections are being completed.
"I support the phasing concept out of necessity … that intersection at Hutchison is a complete mess and has been for years," said Supervisor Lucas Frerichs. "There's routinely bad accidents there and there was one major, major accident there about two weeks ago, so there's no question that there's even data that shows that intersection has challenges."
Frerichs also noted the willing partnership and monetary contributions of UC Davis were extremely important when considering moving forward with the phasing project; however, he also cautioned that there needs to be a mindfulness of the huge price tag of the improvement project and of all the other needs of the county.
"I do feel like the later phases that are being proposed are probably nowhere near the sort of near term horizon," Frerichs said. "I support the phasing and we have to keep on top of it over the next several years but I just don't know where we are beyond this initial next phase. I think we really have to take a hard look at the additional phases."
The other supervisors echoed Frerichs' comments, raising significant concerns over the hefty funding needs, rising cost of construction and project prioritization.
The board unanimously approved the phasing proposal, authorizing staff to phase construction of the project to first construct the section between Solano County and Hutchison Drive.
Staff is expected to return to the board at a later date with another report.
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