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Home My WebLink About05/18/1999, - SLOCOG PRESENTATION council May 1 S,1999 acenaa uepont N®N� SLOMG tation CITY OF SAN LUIS O B I S P O CUESTA GRANDE IMPROVEMENTS PRESENTATION (30 Minutes) At the City Council's May 18, 1999 meeting, Mr. Steve Devencenzi, Senior Planner from SLOCOG and Ms. Kathy DiGrazie,Project Manager from CalTrans will make a slide presentation of the Cuesta Grade Project and be available to answer questions from the City Council. The attached materials provides information about the staged construction and design of the project. AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW IN THE COUNCIL READING FILE Color copies of the Cuesta Grade Project I:\Evo yonelComcH4cndaRWns%LOCOGPmsentadon 1 The Four Stages of Construction for Cuesta Grade Stage 1: Traffic lanes, two northbound and two southbound, will be shifted east toward the hillside and separated by temporary concrete barrier. Bicycles and pedestrians will be directed to Old Stagecoach Road to bypass the construction area for the duration of the project. Construction will be on the west side of the roadway, and will include building the seven retaining walls and a portion of the new southbound lanes. Estimated duration: 1 year, 4 months. Stage 2: Traffic lanes, two northbound and two southbound, will be shifted west toward the valley and separated by temporary concrete barrier. Construction will be on both sides of the roadway, and will include most of the cuts and fills and a portion of the new northbound and southbound lanes. Estimated duration: 1 year. Stage 3: Traffic lanes, two northbound and two southbound, will be shifted toward the outside edges of the roadway and separated by temporary concrete barrier. Construction will be on the east side of the roadway and in the median between the northbound and southbound roadways. Construction will include the center portion of the new roadway and a portion of the new northbound lanes. Estimated duration: 4 months. Stage 4: Traffic lanes, two northbound and two southbound, will remain at the outside edges of the roadway and separated by temporary concrete barrier. Construction will be on the new roadway, and will include all remaining portions of the new northbound and southbound lanes, permanent concrete center divider, and final paving and striping. Three northbound lanes and three southbound lanes can then be permanently opened to traffic. Estimated duration: 4 months. Total estimated duration: 3 years, depending on weather conditions. 2 1 Highway 101 - Questa Grade Project Traffic Management Plan A Traffic Management Plan (TMP) has been developed for the Cuesta Grade Project to reduce or eliminate inconveniences for motorists, and to educate the public about what they can expect during construction. This TMP was developed during the Project's design phase and is considered an essential and integral element of the overall project. The plan includes the following elements- Construction Area Information and Congestion Mitigation Strategies Four Lanes - There will be no permanent lane closures. Project construction has been staged to allow four lanes of traffic throughout the entire duration of the project. However, intermittent lane closures will be used during off peak hours. Traffic Control Restrictions - Temporary lane closures will not be allowed during peak travel hours, such as the morning and afternoon commute. Tow Service - Towing service will be on-site during peak travel periods to move disabled vehicles out of the travel lanes quickly, and keep traffic moving through the area. Gawk Screens - Screens will be installed to keep construction activity out of view of passing traffic. Caltrans has found that motorists slowing to look at construction activities can cause significant delays. Changeable Message Signs - Lighted signs will provide motorists with advance warning of delays, slow traffic ahead, as well as other construction area advisories. Construction Zone Enhanced Enforcement Program (COZEEP) - Caltrans has entered into a contract with the California Highway Patrol to provide additional officers to work within the construction zone. Generally, they will be used for traffic handling enforcement on-time incident response, and safety coordination. 3 2 Public Awareness Campaign 24-Hour Telephone Helpline - Public Information Staff will be available during normal business hours to answer questions. Recorded messages with current traffic impacts and other project related concerns will be available at all times. Project Website - A website will be created to provide information on traffic impacts and general project and construction information. It will also provide a project e-mail address for public comments and questions. The website will link to local ridesharing and public transit sites, and other web locations with useful or related information. Community Outreach - • Public Speakers will be available for all types of speaking engagements. • Visitor and Tourist Program will provide information to local tourist based organizations and businesses. • News Media coverage, including TV, radio, and newspaper, will be continuous and intensive to provide regular updates on the project and its impact on traffic. • Printed Material will be distributed throughout the County to educate the public about the project, its information services, and transportation options. Transportation Alternatives Caltrans has entered into a cooperative agreement with the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) to coordinating a package of Transportation Demand Management strategies to reduce the number of vehicles using the Cuesta Grade at peak times. The following elements are included: Park and Ride Lots -Approximately 120 -150 Park and Ride spaces will be available for the duration of the project. This is in addition to the 145 spaces currently available north of Cuesta Grade. Central Coast Area Transit (CCAT) - Three new busses will be added to Route 9 (North County) before the construction begins, bringing the total number of buses running in the Nort@ County to six. The number of trips for each bus will be increased during morning and afternoon peak times. Route 9 Passes will be discounted below the current$30 price. Vanpools - Vanpool service will be upgraded, and pricing will be subsidized. Incentives for employees who ride regularly will be available (e.g. movie tickets, gift certificates). Call Ride-On Transportation for information on how to join a vanpool. 541 -TRIP. Carpool Matching - Services will be available to match commuters from any community with each other in carpools or available vanpools. Employer Outreach - Assistance will be given to employers to implement demand management programs to analyze the transportation needs of their employees, and develop transportation programs. Telecommuting - San Luis Obispo Regional Rideshare will work with individuals and employers to set up effective telecommuting programs. For more information on alternative transportation solutions before, during, or after the Cuesta Grade Project, call 541-CARS 4 3 Civil Engineering Innovations on Cuesta Grade Centerline Alignment: In addition to widening, the roadway will be shifted laterally from the existing centerline to create smooth curves, avoid buildings, trees, and sensitive habitat, and minimize the size of cuts and fills. Traffic Control: Recognizing the daily importance of this route for commuters and travelers, the project is designed to be built in four separate stages of construction. This allows two lanes of traffic in each direction throughout construction, separated by temporary concrete barrier. Occasional lane closures will be necessary, but two lanes will be kept open in the peak direction of travel, southbound in the morning and northbound in the afternoon. Repair of Slipout: The slipout midway up Cuesta Grade, active since the 1950s, will be permanently repaired with the use of a retaining wall on the southbound side, extending deep underground. Retaining Walls: Where large cuts or fills would create excessive disturbance or impact creeks, the project includes seven retaining walls, totaling over a mile in length. The walls are designed to blend with the rural setting, including multilevel designs with planting, use of rock textures and -colors, and gently curving profiles. The walls are carefully engineered to be stable on steep hillsides. Concrete Barrier Crash Cushion: The crash cushions to be used on the ends of the center barrier are made of blocks of lightweight concrete. If hit, the blocks harmlessly break apart as they gradually bring the vehicle to a stop. The weatherproof, inexpensive concrete blocks can be replaced quickly and easily by two workers. These new-technology crash cushions take up much less room and are easier to install and repair than the more common sand-filled barrels, and will be used during construction before being installed permanently. Rockfall Barrier: Where necessary, a specially designed flexible barrier will be used during construction to catch rolling rocks before they reach the traffic lanes. Cut and Fill Design: All of the side slopes were carefully designed to minimize the extent of disturbance while maintaining slope stability. The cut slopes were designed using a 3-D analysis of the underground rock layers, and a flat area at the base of the cuts will catch any rocks that might roll down. Some new cut slopes will be kept within existing cuts; others will be flatter than existing heavily eroded slopes to allow vegetation and planting. In order to avoid trees and other resources, some fills will be built with embedded layers of reinforcing fabric to allow a steeper slope angle. Both cuts and fills will use horizontal drains where needed to remove excess underground moisture. Over 90 test borings were drilled into the hillside to investigate soil and rock layers and groundwater levels for use in the design of the cut and fill slopes and retaining walls. 5 4 V m Y CD m O O m > w vv > o � as a�wm / � m c _ m v� c am m v E I t N_ W m mc �� mm O � mm vmvm � UEa � a mccm d _ a.., O Z0 0 Z � W m Qp — C LA. Q V ¢ o = N ZQ E2 o c� E 9 �aao N aW : amCLi HV mm �0 t Aesthetic rading Features I . ,orporated Into Cuesta Grade Project steeper roadway fill using — geosynthetio excess reinforcement / material limits stockpiled disturbance �� j / thi leside roadway Sta 58+00 _'K previous 19300s roadway out Sta 59+40 existing — existing out / eroded s I ope / removal roundingof sbench. out/ Y/ a confined to ously flatter slope in rbed unstable soils roadway / allows vegetation roadw Sta 63+00 Sta 72+00 / Also provided on project: existing out slope angles mimicanatural slope / rounding -Drainage controlled to avoid / erosion of fill slopes / steeper slope Variations for ADACe / / In rook -Rook outcrops versus straight / limits out slopes In rook roadway // disturbance -Cut at wall I (previously ————— determined by Committee) oatohment area allows steeper slope 7 Sta 78+00 CUESTA GRADE AESTHETIC DESIGN ADVISORY COMMITTEE Revegetation Concept Revegetation will be accomplished through both seeding and container planting. The seeding will be done along with the erosion control portion of the project, during and immediately after construction. A contract to install the containerized planting and additional seeding will be entered into within one year after completion of road work construction The general planting concept is to plant trees and understory in naturally appearing patterns on all fill slopes and on cut slopes approximately 2:1 or flatter. Steeper slopes will be revegetated by seeding. Riparian species will be planted in drainages. An irrigation system will be installed as necessary. All planting will include a one-year plant establishment period and a five-year monitoring period. 1000/6 success rate will be required after one year, and a minimum 50% success rate will be required after five years. The EIR sets the criteria for replacing disturbed revegetation ratios as follows: Oak under 10"dbh =10:1 Oak over 10" dbh = tree per inch Syc and Walnut under 10" dbh = 5:1 Syc and Walnut over 10" dbh = 10:1 0.11 ac wetland disturbed to be replaced at 2:1 area. Serpentine Manzanita will replaced with a minimum of 30 of same. The number of trees removed is as follows: Oak trees = 16 Sycamore trees = 6 Walnut trees = 1 Caltrans proposes replanting the following: Approx. 2000 tree seedlings Approx. 2000 understory plants. The majority of plants will be grown from local stock. The containerized revegetation plants will probably include (but not be limited to): Trees: Coast Live Oak Blue Oak Valley Oak Scrub Oak g Calif. Sycamore Calif. Walnut Madrone Calif. Bay Laurel Arroyo Willow Yellow Willow Red Willow Black Cottonwood Understory: Coast Sagebrush Coyote Brush Toyon Bush Poppy Blackberry Elderberry Serpentine Manzanita Sticky Monkeyflower Black Sage California Buckwheat Coffeeberry Golden Yarrow Bush Lupine Yucca Seeding revegetation plants will include: Bush Lupine California Sagebrush California Brome California Buckwheat Golden Yarrow California Poppy California Melic Sticky Monkeyflower Nodding Nassella Purple Needlegrass Black Sage Wetland species are yet to be determined. 9