I-80, Route 12 transportation priorities

I-80, Route 12 transportation priorities
Monday, August 18, 2008
BY JENNA V. LOCEFF
STAFF REPORTER

SOLANO COUNTY – Several major transportation projects are under way in Solano County, including the addition of 8.7 miles of a high-occupancy vehicle lane on Interstate 80 set to be finished in late 2009 and a widening project and center barrier on Route 12.

“There is not a lot of money to go around, and there are a lot of projects,” said Janet Adams, director of projects at the Transportation Authority. With the passage of Proposition 1B in 2006, funds have been allocated to a number of current and proposed projects.

Construction on the HOV lane has begun. It will run from Red Top Road in Fairfield to the Airbase Parkway in both directions. To be completed in 2012 will be the relocation of two truck scales and creation of an interchange to curtail traffic.

The Transportation Authority is working closely with Caltrans on the project.

“It is really a partnership,” said Jim Mitchell, executive director of the Solano Transportation Authority. “We decide how money gets spent, and Caltrans makes it happen. It takes collaborative planning, and we have been able, for the most part, to work together. “It is important to have local political support,” he added. “And we do.”

In addition to the traffic issues, there have been questions as to the safety of drivers and passengers on the roads. In the March of last year, there were six fatalities on Route 12. Since October of last year, there have been nine deaths. Two of the deaths in the past two years were children, which spawned a safety investigation, and a four-pronged safety plan was put into effect. Enforcement, education, legislation and engineering are the pieces, allowing law enforcement and policy makers the chance to get to the problems from all sides.

Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Davis, backed Assembly Bill 112 that created a double-fine zone in the same section of Rouse 12 that the fatalities took place.

Most of the fatalities were head-on collisions on the stretch of Route 12 that goes from Suisun City to Rio Vista. Caltrans and the transportation agency worked together to fund and install rumble strips and a K-rail – a concrete barrier designed to lift a car if it hits it to minimize damage.

A California Office of Traffic Safety grant allows for overtime hours for the Highway Patrol for more enforcement. This grant is good for two years, and the hope is that within that time, more physical improvements can take place.

Another challenge the Transportation Authority faces is a lack of parallel routes. In an area where there is a major traffic corridor, it is helpful if there is an alternative route to distribute traffic between several roads. The Jepson Parkway project will help that out.

“We want local options so that our local trips can stay off I-80,” Mr. Mitchell said. “You can actually take those routes now, it is just less convenient.”