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Thursday, May 17, 2012
Regional Focus: April 2008
Better Trafficking
Freeing congestion on the road to progress
Story by Patricia Kutza
It’s going to get worse before it gets better for commuters driving through Solano. The first of four stages of the Interstate 80 repaving project has begun, hoping to make for a smoother ride from Tennessee Street to American Canyon Road in Vallejo. But that’s just one of the $2.72 billion in priority projects identified by the Solano Transportation Authority through 2030.
As Solano’s high-quality workforce and affordable commercial space continues to attract businesses to the area, the need to solve its transportation woes have never been greater, says Mike Ammann, president of Solano Economic Development Corp.
“I-80 is a major transportation hub,” Ammann says. “When it’s congested, it negatively impacts a number of growing subeconomies. For instance, the city of Fairfield is attracting wine-related businesses such as barrel and glass manufacturers and wine warehouses.” The nutraceutical, biotechnology and education sectors are also expanding, he says, leading employees and customers to rely on I-80 to work and play.
When the $125 million repaving project is complete, drivers should notice a substantial difference in their commutes from Vallejo to Vacaville’s Leisure Town Road. But that’s just a piece of the puzzle.
“With this priority project underway, the authority will concentrate on the centerpiece of our 2008 initiatives, the construction of eight miles of high-occupancy vehicle lanes that will connect Contra Costa’s existing HOV lanes with Solano lanes in both directions,” says Daryl Halls, executive director of transportation authority.
The I-80 median from Red Top Road to Airbase Parkway in the Cordelia-Fairfield corridor would widen to accommodate this additional lane. Subsequent phases of the HOV project would include Vallejo, the Carquinez Bridge and State Route 37, eventually creating a continuous HOV path to the Bay Bridge.
The HOV project is an integral part of a much larger initiative that has a timeline extending out to 2015. By that time, the interchange upgrades connecting Interstates 80 and 680 and State Route 12 should be in place. With a price tag estimated at $1.2 billion, the project offers congestion relief for motorists destined for Sacramento, Rio Vista, the East Bay, the Tri-Valley region and Napa. In addition to HOV lanes, plans are underway to relocate the Cordelia-based truck scales and improve freeway access. The truck scale relocation will be financed from Proposition 1B funds that voters approved in 2006.
Such ambitious plans come with a hefty price tag and shrinking sources for funding. Less than one-third — only $784 million — of the $2.72 billion in priority projects have secured funding, according to the Solano Transportation Authority. Funding for priority projects, says Halls, comes from state and federal revenue generated from gasoline and diesel fuel taxes and revenue from truck weight fees. The state is currently funding 58 percent of the authority’s projects under construction. Federal funding makes up 6 percent, or $49 million.
Ammann says the urgency of infrastructure improvements and the scope of the impact make teamwork imperative. That’s why Halls and other civic leaders are heavily involved with the Solano Economic Development Corp., Ammann says.
Likewise, the authority’s board of directors roster reads like a mayoral roll call with mayors representing the cities of Rio Vista, Benicia, Dixon, Fairfield, Suisun City, Vacaville and Vallejo as well as a Solano County supervisor. “We need this type of cooperation and feedback to prioritize the types of improvements the county needs to grow its brand and stay competitive,” Ammann says.
This teamwork, local leaders say, played a major part in the county’s 2007 transportation milestones. There’s been a reduction in speeding and fewer fatalities on State Route 12 between Suisun City and Rio Vista, thanks to CalTrans’ placement of median barriers, increased patrolling by the California Highway Patrol and implementation of higher fines and speed signs. Also, the new Benicia-Martinez Bridge joins the Al Zampa Memorial Bridge, finished in 2003.
Although the HOV and truck scale relocation might grab much of the media’s ink in 2008, there are plenty of other projects waiting in the queue. Vallejo hopes to build a multimodal facility for ferry and bus transit. “We got $76 million to widen Jameson Canyon [from State Route 12 to Napa], and we will eventually add a truck-climbing lane at the I-80 and State Route 12 interchange,” Halls says.
Relief is also waiting in the wings for State Route 12 commuters who now face the precarious visibility limitations between Suisun City and Rio Vista. “We’ll be looking at adding more shoulders and doing vertical corrections to flatten out the terrain.”
