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CC 2016-11-22_11a Brisco Interchange Temp Closure UpdateMEMORANDUM TO: CITY COUNCIL FROM: TERESA MCCLISH, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BY: NATE STONG, PROJECT ENGINEER, OMNI-MEANS SUBJECT: CONSIDERATION OF STATUS OF THE BRISCO INTERCHANGE TEMPORARY CLOSURE DATE: NOVEMBER 22, 2016 RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended the City Council provide staff direction regarding the continued temporary closure of the Brisco Interchange northbound ramps for an additional six- months. IMPACT ON FINANCIAL AND PERSONNEL RESOURCES: The cost of the test closure was originally estimated to be $100,000. Costs to date are approximately $110,000. Reopening the northbound ramps at Brisco Road is estimated to be $12,000. The additional costs can be funded in the project budget. The Brisco Road-Halcyon Road/U.S. 101 Interchange project is part of the Critical Needs Action Plan. BACKGROUND: The Brisco Road-Halcyon Road/U.S. 101 Interchange project has been underway since the late 1990s. Currently the project is in the Project Approval and Environmental Determination (PA&ED) phase with three project alternatives under review: Alternative 1, Alternative 4C Roundabout (RAB), and no-build. Caltrans returned comments on the project report in June, 2016. On July 26, 2016, the City Council approved and authorized the Mayor to execute Amendment No. 13 to the Consultant Services Agreement with Wood Rodgers, Inc. for the Brisco Interchange Project to prepare a noise study to support Alternative 1. The Draft Project Report has been revised to address Caltrans' comments and will be submitted to Caltrans by the end of November. It is anticipated that this will enable the draft environmental documents to be circulated for public review at the end of the year or in January 2017. Alternative 1 includes the following improvements:  Closes the northbound on and off-ramps at Brisco Road and US 101  Completes intersection improvements at Camino Mercado and US 101  Completes intersection improvements at Grand Ave and US 101  Completes bridge widening on Grand Ave Item 11.a. - Page 1 CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF STATUS REPORT FOR THE BRISCO INTERCHANGE TEMPORARY CLOSURE NOVEMBER 22, 2016 PAGE 2 Alternative 4C RAB includes the following improvements:  Relocates the northbound ramps at Brisco to West Branch Street at Rodeo Drive  Completes intersection improvements at Grace Lane and Rodeo Drive connecting Grace Lane to Rodeo Drive so that continuous vehicle traffic uses Grace Lane instead of Rodeo Drive.  Completes intersection improvements at Grand Ave and US 101 realigning US 101 southbound on-ramp at Grand Avenue with the existing southbound off- ramp.  Provides an auxiliary lane on US 101 from Brisco Road to Camino Mercado. On September 8, 2015, the City Council approved a plan for an extended temporary closure in order to test the Alternative 1 option. The timeline of activities related to the ramp closure is as follows: Date Activity  September 29, 2015 US 101 northbound on and off-ramps at Brisco Road closed.  October 27, 2015 City Council extends closure termination date from December 7, 2015 to January 11, 2016.  December 17, 2015 City Council revised the test ramp termination date until July 11, 2016 to allow additional time for presentation of the ramp closure study data and discussion by the community.  February 23, 2016 City Council received the Brisco Ramp Closure Status Report.  June 13, 2016 Caltrans authorized the Brisco Ramp Closure extension from July 11, 2016 to December 11, 2016. Caltrans has indicated the ramps may not remain closed until the start of construction for the Brisco Road-Halcyon Road/U.S. 101 Interchange project.  October 13, 2016 City submitted rider application requesting time extension from December 11, 2016 to June 11, 2017. ANALYSIS OF ISSUES: On February 23, 2016, the City Council directed staff to determine the feasibility of keeping the Brisco on and off-ramps closed until the start of construction of the preferred alternative for the Brisco Road-Halcyon Road/U.S. 101 Interchange project. A request to keep the ramps closed until July 11, 2020 was submitted to Caltrans on May 6, 2016. Caltrans responded to this request on June 13, 2016, granting the request to keep the ramps closed until December 11, 2016. On June 24, 2016, Caltrans provided written direction that the ramps may not remain closed indefinitely. Item 11.a. - Page 2 CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF STATUS REPORT FOR THE BRISCO INTERCHANGE TEMPORARY CLOSURE NOVEMBER 22, 2016 PAGE 3 The temporary closure of the ramps at Brisco Road has resulted in a redistribution of traffic and specifically an increased volume on the northbound off-ramp at E. Grand Avenue and queuing in the morning peak hours, which at times exceeds available storage of the ramp. Improvements designed for Alternative 1 are intended to mitigate this impact as discussed above. Based on the fact that the closure of the northbound off-ramp has resulted in queuing at the northbound off-ramp to E. Grand Avenue, staff explored a revised closure plan that keeps the on-ramp closed and opens the off-ramp. The traffic impact of re-opening just the northbound off-ramp to Brisco Road has been analyzed and recommendations for changes in lane channelization and signal timing provided to accommodate this action. This closure plan may be acceptable to Caltrans as a short-term interim phase; however, comments to date indicate that it would be considered a "project" and require additional extensive environmental analysis and documentation. It is likely that this may significantly delay the project report. An application requesting a time extension of the temporary closure for an additional six months (to June 11, 2017) has meanwhile been submitted to Caltrans for approval. As of the date of this report preparation, the City has not received a formal response to the request; however, Caltrans has indicated verbally that the permit may be extended to the requested date. Although the additional time would allow the City and Caltrans to discuss the options available and determine the most prudent path forward, Caltrans has determined that the ramps will not be able to remain closed until construction. As project construction funding is not available for four years, and especially since Measure J appears not to have passed, opportunities to move the project up are unlikely. Should the Council direct staff to reopen both northbound ramps, it is estimated that it would take approximately four weeks to provide advance notice to the public, facilitate the coordination with Caltrans signal technicians and the City's contractor to remove the closure. In this case, the permit rider would allow for the additional time needed and the ramps would likely open by mid-December. ALTERNATIVES: The following alternatives are provided for the Council’s consideration:  Direct staff to continue full closure until June 11, 2017;  Direct staff to notify the public and re-open both northbound ramps; or  Provide alternate direction to staff. ADVANTAGES: Leaving the ramps closed maintains the improved traffic operations on Brisco Road between El Camino Real and W. Branch Street, as compared to the pre-closure condition. Item 11.a. - Page 3 CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF STATUS REPORT FOR THE BRISCO INTERCHANGE TEMPORARY CLOSURE NOVEMBER 22, 2016 PAGE 4 Caltrans has stated that closure of the ramps on a long-term basis (until construction of the Brisco Road Interchange project) is unacceptable without additional environmental review. The time extension would allow for further analysis and review of the alternatives by Caltrans and the City. DISADVANTAGES: Traffic volumes at adjacent northbound US 101 ramps have increased as a result of the closure, for example at the northbound off-ramp to E. Grand Avenue where queuing has been observed to exceed available storage, and at the Camino Mercado / northbound US 101 ramps intersection. Impacts associated with increased volumes at these intersections are intended to be mitigated with improvements as described earlier in this report for Alternative 1. However, these improvements are not currently in place, and therefore queuing is expected to remain an issue for the temporary closure. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: This project is subject to both the California Environmental Review Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The City is the lead agency for CEQA and an Initial Study Mitigated Negative Declaration has been prepared. Caltrans is the lead agency for NEPA which will be an Environmental Assessment with Findings of No Significant Impact. PUBLIC NOTIFICATION AND COMMENTS: The Agenda was posted in front of City Hall and on the City’s website in accordance with Government Code Section 54954.2. Item 11.a. - Page 4