Tag Archives: transportation

Diamond Bar: Freeway Construction Projects A Go

STAFF REPORTS

(Image Courtesy: Caltrans)

(Image Courtesy: Caltrans)

Diamond Bar – The City of Diamond Bar was recently notified that a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant (TIGER) was awarded by the federal government in the amount of $10 million for the 57/60 freeway confluence construction project.

According to City staff, the program was created by the 2009 Economic Stimulus Bill, which allows states and cities to apply for funding for transportation projects that have a significant impact on the nation, a metropolitan area or a region.

The confluence project is designed to improve traffic operation on Grand Avenue from Golden Springs Drive to the interchange at SR-60 in Pomona, increase the capacity at the Grand Avenue Interchange, improve traffic operation on the freeway mainline, reduce traffic weaving and increase weaving distance, and improve safety.

David Liu, Public Works Director for the City, said the application process was an incredibly competitive process. This is the sixth year of the grant program, and the City’s second try in pursuing this grant. $600 million in grant dollars were appropriated in the current grant cycle. 72 projects were selected from the U.S. Department of Transportation, with grants awarded from applications in 49 states. Liu added that the award validates the project as a national priority.

The grant will be matched with $4.5 million in Los Angeles County MTA funds, $10.6 million in City of Industry funds, and $9.4 million in federal funds – for a total of $34.5 million – to be used for the ongoing project. The funds will be used to implement the first three phases of the project to accelerate the congestion relief, starting in early 2016.

“The folks that travel that every day probably would attest to the fact that it is the seventh most congested interchange in the United States,” said Mayor Pro Tem Steve Tye. “It will get worse before it gets better, but now we know that the funding is there and it’s on the horizon to get better.”

Along with this confluence comes the agreement between Diamond Bar and the City of Industry to move ahead with new interchange on the 60 Freeway, at Lemon Avenue, helping to alleviate the traffic on Brea Canyon Road. The interchange will include a westbound on-ramp, eastbound on-ramp, and an eastbound off-ramp.

This Lemon Interchange construction project will match Diamond Bar’s Metro Prop C funds in the amount of $405,430, with $80,725 from the City of Industry, and $1,751,045 in federal right-of-way funds. The right-of-way phase should begin in June of 2015, with completion scheduled for January 2017.

 

 

 

 

Diamond Bar: Council Corner – Gridlock Fix

Diamond Bar City HallBY ARIEL CARMONA JR.

Diamond Bar – On their meeting April 1, the Diamond Bar City Council heard an update from City staff on a $256 million multi-phase project designed to improve the existing 57/60 freeway interchange bottleneck, and also received an update on the Grand Avenue Beautification project, estimated at more than $1 million.

According to information provided by City staff, the 2.5 mile interchange stretch where the 57 and 60 freeways meet, ranks as the third most congested in California, and seventh worst in the nation. With funding from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and the City of Industry, the project will be completed in three phases based upon the results of a feasibility study completed in 2008 to evaluate fixes and improvements.

The first phase consists of construction of a $16. 6 million westbound on-ramp at Grand Avenue, estimated to start in November 2015. Phase 2A consists of a fully funded $14 million street widening improvement in the vicinity of Grand Avenue and Golden Springs Drive.  Phase 2B is the construction of a $20 million westbound freeway off-ramp and an auxiliary lane to Grand Avenue.  And the final phase consists of freeway mainline improvements and bypass connectors valued at more than $200 million, with an environmental impact report certified last December.

According to a presentation by City staff, because the freeways were built in the early 70s, the forced merging of the two major freeways was made necessary by the valley shaped terrain dividing the area. At present, hundreds of thousands of drivers struggle through the confluence every day struggling to deal with all the lane merging required by a design that is almost 40 years old.

The presentation also stated that the results are “unacceptable levels of congestion, accidents and air pollution.  The 57/60 confluence is a vital link in Southern California’s transportation network. Every year more than 100 million commercial and private vehicles pass through, as does $375 billion worth of goods going through to the Los Angeles area. However, almost 80 percent of those goods are consumed outside of Southern California which means that the problems caused by this stretch of roadway impact not just local and regional tax payers and businesses, but also interstate commerce on a state and national level.”

According to a report made public by David Liu, Director of Public Works, the cost of missing components to the project include freeway connectors, and High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) connectors totaling more than $500 million, which are contingent on additional resources and funds. To date, staff has secured a $100,000 grant from Caltrans and other partners to fund an updated feasibility study valued between $300,000 and $400,000.

Members of the Council and City staff met with U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Anthony Foxx, and other dignitaries on March 21 to personally inspect the area and to make the federal government aware of the problem.

“We are trying to stress to the representatives across the nation, that this isn’t just a Diamond Bar problem, a San Gabriel Valley problem, or a California problem; this is a problem for the rest of the nation.  The longer it (goods) gets held up here in this choke point, the longer it takes to get to its destination and the more expensive the goods will be.  They understand that and hopefully the funding will come soon and we can get to work on fixing it,” said Mayor Carol Herrera.

In other matters, the Council heard a presentation regarding an update on the Grand Avenue Beautification project, which among other improvements to the City, will include streetscape enhancements to the intersections at Grand Avenue, Diamond Bar Boulevard, and Longview Drive.

On March 19, the City conducted an Open House for the community of residents and local business owners to learn more about the project. According to the presentation, a total of 53 attendees, including 40 residents, participated to provide input on the design concepts.

Residents surveyed voted for the inclusion of decorative street lights and traffic signal lights, and also requested pedestrian safety improvements at crosswalks including upgraded pedestrian crossing signage with countdown indicators and audio enhancements for the visually impaired, and more landscape improvements. Construction for the project is expected to be completed by December of this year.

During the City Manager’s report portion of the meeting, the Council heard a presentation on cyber crime by Mark Stevens from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department warning residents to be aware of the various types of cyber crime including hacking, identity theft and medical ID theft, among others.

The Council also voted 5-0 to approve a packed consent calendar which included their Treasurer’s statement from the Finance Department, and an authorization for City Manager, James DeStefano, to extend vendor services for entertainment related activities in an amount not to exceed $30,000 for the City’s 25th Birthday Party, scheduled for April 12.

The next meeting of the Diamond Bar City Council is scheduled for Tuesday, April 15, 6:30 p.m., at the AQMD/Government Center Auditorium, 21865 Copley Drive.

 

Corona: Ground Broken For 91 Toll Lanes Extension

Overview of toll lanes extension project in Corona.

Overview of toll lanes extension project in Corona. (Image courtesy of Riverside County Transportation Commission)

Corona – By Glenn Freeman – For some commuters, the “Corona Crawl” may soon crawl a bit faster.

Riverside County transportation officials held ground breaking ceremonies on Dec. 11 for a $1.3 billion project to replace carpool lanes with express toll lanes on Highway 91 through Corona.

The freeway project will extend two existing toll lanes from the Orange County line to the I-15 interchange, including a new flyover ramp, allowing I-15 commuters a direct connection near Magnolia Avenue in Corona. A free, general-use lane in each direction on the 91 through Corona is also part of the overall project, with the eastbound lane stretching to Pierce Street in Riverside.

Several overpasses and ramps will be widened and rebuilt, including a new westbound entrance at Maple/Sixth streets and reconfigured eastbound entrances to the 91 at Serfas Club Drive and Main Street. The changes will help reduce congestion by separating merging traffic entering and exiting the 91.

According to Riverside County Transportation Commission, access will be at either end of the new toll lanes, which will use the existing “FastTrak” system already in place in Orange County, allowing for seamless transition between the two counties. RCTC says separate tolls will be charged for each county’s segment, offering drivers a choice of using the Riverside County toll lanes, the Orange County toll lanes, or both.

Although the new toll lanes will replace existing carpool lanes, Riverside County transportation officials say that the same “three ride free” policies currently in place in Orange County will also be applied to the lanes in Riverside County.

The toll lanes will be Riverside County’s first such lanes. They come approximately 20 years after Orange County first implemented “congestion pricing” tolls to expand Highway 91 west of Corona into Anaheim. The lanes initially drew criticism from Riverside County drivers and officials, who claimed they unfairly penalized Inland commuters, the primary users (and payees) of the lanes. An agreement between the two counties later began a partnership that included recent general use lane expansion in the Santa Ana Canyon performed by Orange County.

The project is being funded through a combination of sales tax bonds and Riverside County’s Measure A transportation sales tax. Work is set to start in January 2014 and actual construction likely to begin in spring 2014, with completion expected by 2017.

Detailed information on the project can be found at: www.sr91project.info.