County adds money to busy intersection
By Joe Naiman
San Diego County supervisors added the intersection of state Route 67, Highland Valley Road and Dye Road to the list of projects to be funded over the next five years during its annual update of the county’s TransNet Local Street Improvement Program.
Also at the Feb. 26 meeting, the supervisors adjusted funding for the Dye Road extension, San Vicente Road widening, and the Ramona Street extension.
The TransNet half-cent sales tax, originally approved by the voters in November 1987, received a 40-year extension in the November 2004 election. TransNet money is split evenly for highways, public transit, and local streets and roads. San Diego County receives approximately $12 million each year for local streets and roads.
San Diego Association of Governments, a regional agency, administers TransNet funding and coordinates the Regional Transportation Improvement Program that includes the TransNet Local Street Improvement Program.
The 67/Highland/Dye intersection experiences traffic congestion on a regular basis, and the Ramona community asked that the regional agency, county and California Department of Transportation work together to fund improvements.
Caltrans has indicated that it will fund the preliminary design and environmental review, and the regional agency and county staff are discussing how to obtain the rest of the funding. The county has committed $7.7 million of TransNet funds to the project and anticipates that the regional agency will reimburse all or much of that amount in the future. The county’s Transportation Impact Fee also will be used for funding. Should the regional agency and county fail to reach a funding agreement, the programmed TransNet funding would be reallocated to another project during a future update, according to a staff report to the supervisors. The current programming allocates $1.8 million of TransNet money in Fiscal Year 2014-15, $2.86 million in 2015-16, and $3 million in 2016-17.
In other Ramona projects, Dye Road will be extended between Ramona Street and San Vicente Road. The regional plan covers funding for the next five fiscal years, with $12.6 million to $12.5 million designated to the project. About $79,000 was allocated in 2012-13 and 2013-14, with $92,000 earmarked during 2014-15, $11,000 for 2015-16, $1,162,000 in 2016-17, $1 million during 2017-18, and $10.2 million for 2018-19.
Phase I of the San Vicente Road project will widen the road and realign short horizontal curves from the street’s intersection with Warnock Drive to one mile south of that intersection. Phase II covers 5,000 feet south of Warnock Drive to Wildcat Canyon Road. Both phases will include intermittent turn lanes and bicycle lanes on each side.
The San Vicente Road budget has a larger than normal contingency due to the rocky terrain, according to the county report. The previous $3.5 million programmed amount included $750,000 of 2012-13 and 2013-14 funding. The updated $3.38 million includes $9,000 of 2014-15 expenditures, $11,000 in 2015-16, $12,000 in 2016-17 and in 2017-18, and $3.3 million in 2018-19.
The Ramona Street extension will pave a connection between Warnock Drive and will have two travel lanes, turn lanes, bicycle lanes, and pathways. The total amount was increased from $28.5 to $29.5 million with expected spending of $15.2 million in 2014-15, $13.6 million in 2015-16, $159,000 in 2016-17, and $540,000 in 2017-18.
The county previously did not include road maintenance costs in its regional program, but the 2014 Local Street Improvement Program allocates $7 million for asphalt concrete overlays between 2015-16 and 2018-19, including $3.85 million for roadway maintenance and overlays in the Second Supervisorial District that includes Ramona and East County communities.