By Jennifer Wilson -
It was standing room only at the Pine Grove Town Hall Wednesday evening, where over 150 residents came to hear speakers from Caltrans and the Amador County Transportation Commission, or ACTC, give an overview of what happened to the Pine Grove Bypass. Together, Charles Field, Executive Director of ACTC, and Dan Brewer from Caltrans, gave a six-year history of the events leading up to the decision to scrap the bypass option. Originally, in 2002, a series of town halls were held, at which residents narrowed about a dozen options down to three: a northern bypass, a southern bypass, or widening Highway 88 through Pine Grove. According to Field, the two predominant choices were the southern bypass and the Highway 88 widening. Field reported that in 2002, the cost of a southern bypass was estimated to be about 22.5 million dollars, and that after a 2007 Caltrans study, that amount climbed to 45 million. Latest cost estimates put the southern bypass option at over 83 million dollars, a cost that the State of California called “unrealistic.” According to Field, the bypass was voted down by ACTC this summer due to the “lack of funding” and “high cost” of that option. Their plan now is to conduct a series of public workshops beginning in late January of next year, where they hope to find out “what (Pine Grove) wants to look like, feel like, and be like,” says Field. Many citizens had comments and questions. Carmen Enyeart questioned the state’s motive in upgrading the highway 88 corridor. “Isn’t this just a way to get the skiers up to Kirkwood?” This inquiry sparked others, including a request for data on the ratio of locals and tourists traveling through Pine Grove. Field indicated that as of 2004, a little more than half was local county traffic. Although questions were posed relating to the cost and purpose of the proposed projects, many of the concerns centered on safety. “Where’s the school going to go? Where are the safe zones?” asked one Pine Grove Elementary mother. This prompted more comments, one of which was that the primary concern should be the safety of pedestrians crossing Highway 88. Andy Byrne, Chair of the ACTC board, assured the public that “all of these concerns will be covered in an environmental impact report.” All in all, over twenty people spoke from the audience, some of which requested copies of maps and other data. Lynda Burman, President of the Pine Grove Civic Improvement Club, volunteered to post the specific Caltrans web links on their website at www.PineGroveCA.com. The next step in this process will be the series of public workshops early next year, and TSPN will bring you more information as details develop.
