Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors discussed a $375,000 shortfall for the improvement of a dangerous county intersection on Tuesday, and talked about ways to make the project cheaper.

A resident who said she is the closest neighbor of the intersection of Ridge Road and New York Ranch Road asked when they were going to get the signal turned on there. And she urged her support for its completion.

County staff said they were at 65 percent on the project’s design, and Supervisor Louis Boitano asked where they are “on the money.” Supervisor Richard Forster said the project previously had been reported having a $500,000 shortfall. A Public Works and Transportation staff member said the project “is only $375,000 short at this point.” She said Special Distribution Fund availability was unknown, but the project could be completed with Proposition 1B funds.

Boitano said he has taken calls from people in his District 4 asking when the project would be done, and said his normal reply is that it’s “all about the money right now.”

County Administrative Officer Chuck Iley said he had discussed with county engineer Stantec about making a presentation to the Indian Gaming Local Community Benefits Committee, which was scheduled to meet today to discuss applications for funding, and also “amounts for nexus and non-nexus grants for each jurisdiction.” The Committee’s jurisdictions are Amador County’s unincorporated areas, the cities of Jackson and Sutter Creek, and the Jackson Rancheria.

Supervisor Brian Oneto said “we need to get this intersection fixed because there are a lot of people dieing up there.” Public Works staff mentioned extending the guardrails and chip and seal, and getting the “intersection done right.”

Supervisor Ted Novelli asked about hidden costs, and staff said contingencies are $275,000 for the project.

Forster said he thought the design having two turn lanes onto Ridge that bottleneck is “just creating a raceway situation.” He said “I’ve seen so many near clips with people trying to get into position” at the Highway 49 Bypass intersection with Highway 88, “and that’s with good drivers.” Iley said Ridge and New York “is a location where you get a lot of aggressive drivers.”

Supervisor Chairman John Plasse noted that traffic on New York Ranch Road backs up to block traffic on a road in his District 1, and they must “get it right.”

Boitano asked for the time frame to be finished, and staff said “late summer to early fall,” but “not this summer,” as they still must make right-of-way acquisitions. Instead it likely would be sometime in 2012.

Boitano said maybe they can eliminate something to help with the cost, or bring some “value-added engineering.” He said: “This is our third bite at the apple. Let’s get the damn thing done this time.”

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.