Amador County – The Amador County Transportation Commission on Wednesday will consider recommendations from its own staff and state highway officials to seek a “hybrid solution” for the Pine Grove Corridor Improvement Project, with a project falling somewhere between a 3-lane and 5-lane, through-town improvement project.

ACTC Planner and Program Manager Neil Peacock gave a progress report Oct. 6 to Commissioners for Wednesday’s meeting. Peacock in the report recommended ACTC endorse or otherwise provide direction on the “Project Design Team” conclusion, which recommended a “Reasonable Range of Alternatives” for full state and federal environmental analysis, “as well as the proposed approach to develop a ‘hybrid solution’ that balances all parties concerns.”

Peacock also recommended ACTC “appoint a Commissioner to participate with staff in developing a comprehensive Scope of Work comprised of all remaining studies and submittals required to complete” the “Project Approval and Environmental Determination” and “then participate with staff in evaluating consultant proposals, recommending award, and negotiating a draft contract for the Commission’s consideration.”

A recent public meeting, Sept. 21 in Pine Grove, looked at two final preferred options selected from 17 alternatives by the ACTC’s “Stakeholder Working Group,” a southern bypass, costing $54 million, and the through-town, three-lane improvement, costing $27.5 million. Peacock, in the report, wrote that the Project Design Team, made up of Caltrans and ACTC staff, recommended to ACTC that “all bypass and couplet alternatives are deemed financially infeasible and are recommended” to be eliminated form consideration, due in part to “a lack of significant support for bypass alternatives.”

The recommendation said the Project Design Team “understands and respects community concerns regarding potential community impacts from the 5-lane capacity expansion alternative (Number 3-A). However, all elements of the project’s Purpose & Need are required to be met by any alternative that will be evaluated for final approval,” and 3-A “meets that criteria and is therefore recommended to advance.”

It said: “Conversely, while the current ‘constrained’ through-town alternative (Number 3-B) appears not to address the ‘congestion relief’ aspect of the Purpose & Need, it does address two other aspects of the Purpose & Need,” those being safety and operations, and the Project Development Team “understands and respects local concerns to minimize potential community impacts, so this alternative is recommended to advance as well.”

Peacock’s recommendation concluded saying 3-A and 3-B should move forward so ACTC, Caltrans, the Stakeholder Group, “the community and all potential affected parties can engage in the ‘creative challenge’ of developing a ‘hybrid solution’ of the two concepts in a way that balances both community and ACTC/Caltrans interests and concerns, and meets all aspects of the project’s Purpose & Need, and results in the most cost-effective project possible.”

ACTC will consider the recommendations during a special early meeting, 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19 in the Supervisors’ Chamber.

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