Highway 65 Lincoln Bypass

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is alerting the public of planned lane closures for State Route 65 (SR-65) in both directions.

Due to rain, lane closures scheduled for last Thursday had to be cancelled and have now been rescheduled.  Starting at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 2, to 5 a.m. Tuesday, April 3, construction crews will close the right lanes on both northbound and southbound SR-65. Crews will restripe the right-edge lane marker on northbound SR-65, resulting in the closure of the Twelve Bridges onramp while work is occurring. The southbound lane closure is needed to re-align right-edge concrete barriers previously displaced by the traveling public.

The work being done is part of a $325 million project to create an 11.7-mile highway bypass around the City of Lincoln.  The bypass will open to the public on schedule in 2012.

Almost daily, we’re asked the inevitable question “When’s the opening date?” It seems tens of thousands of commuters just can’t wait to use the State Highway 65 Lincoln Bypass.

While the opening is approximately six months away, a handful of community members aren’t waiting. Instead, they are ignoring the numerous “Road Closed” signs and barricades and using the soon-to-be completed thoroughfare as a walkway, bike path or shortcut.

For you and your neighbor’s safety, we are reminding Lincoln and Sheridan residents that the 12-mile stretch of roadway and bridges remains an active construction zone, which is not safe for pedestrians and bicyclists. We wouldn’t want a bicyclist or a pedestrian stumbling on the uneven pavement or trying to dodge one of the many contractor and Caltrans vehicles that travel weekdays and weekends along the bypass.

Even though construction slowed for the winter, we still are working on erosion control and electrical projects, such as installing electrical conduit, constructing drainage pipe and applying erosion control.

Now that spring has arrived, it is even more crucial for you to stay off the bypass. In the coming weeks, you’ll see construction activity picking up and heavy equipment ranging from asphalt-hauling semi-trailers to steel drum rollers on the roadway.

It has been nearly four years since we broke ground. Now we’re headed down the construction backstretch. If everything goes as scheduled, we should reach the finish line by October and finally switch the Lincoln Bypass signs to read “Road Open.”

Jody Jones, director, Caltrans District 3

Lane striping and barrier alignment planned during overnight work

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is alerting the public of planned lane closures for State Route 65 (SR-65) in both directions.

Starting at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 29, to 5 a.m. Friday, March 30, construction crews will close the right lanes on both northbound and southbound SR-65. Crews will restripe the right-edge lane marker on northbound SR-65, resulting in the closure of the Twelve Bridges onramp while work is occurring. The southbound lane closure is needed to re-align right-edge concrete barriers previously displaced by the traveling public.

The work being done is part of a $325 million project to create an 11.7-mile highway bypass around the City of Lincoln.  The bypass will open to the public on schedule in 2012.

Lane closures will be implemented on westbound Ferrari Ranch Road from 8:15 a.m. – 5 p.m., on Thursday, March 8 and Friday, March 9, as part of the Lincoln Bypass project.  One lane will remain open at all times to facilitate vehicle passage during the lane closures.

The lanes will be closed to install electrical conduit for the Ferrari Ranch Road Interchange.

The Lincoln Bypass will open to the public on schedule in 2012.

Electrical work to be done during two-day off-ramp closure

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is alerting the public of a planned off-ramp closure for the northbound Twelve Bridges Drive exit on State Route 65.

On Tuesday, February 14, and Wednesday, February 15, construction crews will close the Twelve Bridges Drive off-ramp on northbound State Route 65 from 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. to perform electrical work for the Lincoln Bypass.

Caltrans has positioned a message board after the Sunset Boulevard exit, alerting motorists to the off-ramp closure and to take alternate routes.

The work being done is part of a $325 million project to create an 11.7-mile highway bypass around the City of Lincoln.  The bypass will open to the public on schedule in 2012.

Overturned onion truck one of 15 accidents

Officials say there aren’t many alternatives available to prevent accidents on the Highway 65 bypass detour at Lincoln’s south end. That’s in light of a crash that occurred last Thursday night on the detour, involving an overturned semi-truck.

The truck, carrying a load of onions, overturned at the 20-mile-per-hour curve around 7:40 p.m., according to Lincoln’s public information officer Jill Thompson.

Highway 65, north of Twelve Bridges Drive, was closed for several hours as crews unloaded and uprighted the truck, and put cement dividers back into alignment, Thompson said.

Minor injuries were involved in the crash, according to Lincoln Police Chief Paul Shelgren. He estimated the crash to be due to “excessive speed.”

Last week’s accident was the 15th to occur on the 20-mile-per-hour curve since the detour opened June 1, according to Lincoln Police Officer Matt Alves.

Alternative options to the curve have been looked at, according to Caltrans spokesman Gilbert Mohtes-Chan.

One option was diverting traffic to an off ramp with a four-way stop sign in place, Mohtes-Chan said Monday.

“It’s not really viable,” Mohtes-Chan said. “It would create a traffic back-up.”

Caltrans will continue to monitor the detour to “see ways we can improve signage in terms of approaching the detour,” Mohtes-Chan said.

“We have probably a couple dozen signs out there warning motorists as they approach the curve to slow down to the 20 MPH speed limit, and we also have a portable radar speed limit sign,” Mohtes-Chan said. “It’s reached the point where we have as many signs as we can. Otherwise, motorists will have an overload and they start ignoring them if you have too many.”

Mohtes-Chan said drivers “should be able to pass through there safely” if the suggested speed limit is observed.

“The detour will remain until the new 11.7 mile stretch of freeway is open to traffic, which is scheduled for late summer of 2012,” Mohtes-Chan said.

Lincoln City Councilman Tom Cosgrove said Monday that he’s “not sure there is much more Caltrans can do” to prevent further accidents.

Cosgrove has been a Placer County Transportation Planning Agency member since 1995, a year after he joined Lincoln City Council.

“We have a continuing dialogue going with Caltrans regarding that particular location and we will continue to talk to them about any options that may come up,” Cosgrove said. “The focus really is and should be about the speed of the drivers coming through there.”

Cosgrove said an alternative would be to “redesign the entry into town.”

“That will probably cause traffic to pack up for a long ways,” Cosgrove said.

Cosgrove said Caltrans has done what he hsuggested and put up a variety of signs leading up to the bypass.

“There’s a bunch of signage out there so it should be fairly easy to see that there’s a significant curve coming up,” Cosgrove said. “I’m not quite sure how Caltrans can actually make a driver drive better other than give them the adequate notice.”

Michael Kirby/News Messenger Reporter - The 10 collisions that have occurred on this Highway 65 detour have all been speed related, according to police.

Lincoln Police officers are urging drivers to obey temporary speed limit signs on the 20 MPH curve on Highway 65, betweeen Sterling Parkway and Twelve Bridges Drive.

Ten traffic accidents have occured there since the detour was opened June 1.

There have been no fatalities and no major injuries as a result of those accidents, according to Lincoln Police Chief Paul Shelgren.

The temporary route diverts traffic so the northbound lane of the Highway 65 bypass overpass and the ramp for getting onto the Highway 65 Bypass can be completed, according to previous News Messenger reports.

The latest accident occurred on Sept. 26 when a tractor trailer carrying groceries overturned, causing the Twelve Bridges Drive and Sterling Parkway exits to be shut down for more than five hours, according to previous News Messenger reports. No one was hurt in the single-vehicle accident.

Celia McAdam, the Placer County Transportation Planning Agency’s executive director, said on Sept. 29 that the detour was built to save money.

“You don’t want to construct a detour that’s going to essentially be a throw away, where you build something else and then destroy it later,” McAdam said. “It’s not a good use of the public’s money so that curve is there because those lanes are going to be the ultimate ramps to get on and off the bypass.”

The Placer County Transportation Planning Agency is talking to Caltrans about “spacing the signage,” McAdam said, to make drivers aware of the curve.

“The reality is, there’s big signage saying ‘slow down’ and ‘construction zone.’ There’s only so much you can advertise,” McAdam said. “People have to take heed of the signage. People need to pay attention. This is a curve and you need to slow down.”

Lincoln Police Chief Paul Shelgren said drivers need to follow the 20 MPH signs on that curve.

“Every accident we’ve had is a result of excessive speed,” Shelgren said. “I’m worried about any collision and there’s the potential for it to be dangerous if they (drivers) don’t heed the signs and warnings.”

There is an extra penalty for speeding in a construction zone if caught, according to Lincoln Police Lt. David Ibarra.

“The courts will double the fine for any driver who is cited for driving faster than the posted speed limit in the construction zone,” Ibarra said. “The signs are posted for the safety of all motorists.”

Lincoln City Councilman Tom Cosgrove said the 20 MPH curve has been a concern of his since “about the day it opened.”

Cosgrove has been a Placer County Transportation Planning Agency member since 1995, a year after he joined City Council.

“What I’ve done is I have become a very strong and vocal advocate for the funding and building of the bypass,” Cosgrove said.

The 55 MPH hour sign in place just past Twelve Bridges Boulevard on northbound Highway 65 shuold be moved further south of its current location, according to Cosgrove.

“They should be able to move that sign to south of the (Twelve Bridges Drive) interchange and slow the traffic,” Cosgrove said.

Cosgrove said he will discuss his suggestions for making the curve safer with McAdam.

“I’ll be talking with her more about other ways, whether it be more flashing lights, a road treatment that causes more bumps that catches people’s attention,” Cosgrove said. “In the end, we can make the suggestions and recommendations that we think are appropriate. Ultimately, it’s up to Caltrans to make the decision of what to do.”

Bypass construction is currently at the Ferrari Ranch interchange and the south end connection area where the current detour is south of Sterling Parkway, according to McAdam.

Next year, McAdam said, construction of the bypass’ north end connection near Sheridan will start.

Twenty-five percent of the bypass paving has been completed and the bypass will open on schedule by “mid-summer next year,” according to McAdam.

Funding received through federal funding and the State Improvement Improvement Program to construct phase one of the bypass was $291 million, according to McAdam, and $20 million in funding from the California Transportation Commission for phase 2 was received in June.

Phase two includes widening the bypass between Nelson Lane and Wise Road from two lanes to four lanes.

“Phase two is going out for bid this winter so it will probably be starting construction the time that phase one is winding down,” McAdam said.

By: Whitney Mountain
Tuesday, Jun. 28, 2011

The Lincoln Bypass project last week received $20 million, much of the funding needed for the second phase of construction.

The high-profile project will create a 12-mile, four-lane expressway around Lincoln, diverting congestion from the city’s downtown to the edge of the community.

The route starts at Industrial Boulevard and ends at Highway 65 near Sheridan.

“A 12-mile-long new road is huge,” said Celia McAdam, executive director of the Placer County Transportation Planning Agency. “It’s a tremendous amount of structural work.”

The $291 million first phase began in 2008. It involves heavy construction on the main four lanes set to open next summer.

Construction of the $27 million second phase will begin next year. The California Transportation Commission awarded $20 million for the second phase last week.

“We put 20 years’ worth of money into this,” McAdam said, explaining that the county transportation agency dipped into county funding of future projects to start the Lincoln Bypass construction.

McAdam said she expects to award the project to a construction company by February and start the second phase in the spring, and expects the second phase to be completed by early 2014.

The agency was lucky to find funding for the latest phase, McAdam said.

“The state’s discretionary money could have gone anywhere in Northern California, and it was a tough competition,” McAdam said. “These days, transportation money is so scarce, so when you can get some, it’s worth celebrating.”

The third phase has not received funding but is expected to cost $30 million. Like the second phase, it includes relatively minor construction, such as pavement.

According to McAdam, the entire project will be completed two years after the county finds funding for the third and final phase.

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

On June 23, the California Transportation Commission (CTC) officially approved the distribution of $20 million in Proposition 1B Corridor Mobility Improvement Account (CMIA) 2011 project cost savings to fund Phase 2a of the State Route 65 Lincoln Bypass project. Currently in its first phase, the project is constructing a new 11.7 mile road starting at Industrial Boulevard that moves traffic around the City of Lincoln, and will connect back to the existing Highway 65 near Sheridan. Once complete, the project will relieve congestion, improve safety on existing SR 65 and provide for a regional and interregional traffic solution to accommodate projected traffic volumes through the year 2035.

Phase 1 of the Lincoln Bypass which is estimated at over $290 million, is the construction of a 4 lane segment from Industrial Avenue to Nelson Lane (approximately 3 miles), and 2 lanes from Nelson Lane to Sheridan. Phase 2a is the construction of 2 more lanes, making it a full 4 lane road from Industrial Avenue to Wise Road. The final portion, Phase 2b, is estimated at approximately $30 million and not yet funded, and is construction of the final additional 2 lane segment from Wise Road to Sheridan, completing a full 4 lane expressway.

“The Lincoln Bypass has long been one of the region’s most critical transportation improvement priorities. We are tremendously grateful to the California Transportation Commission for making this just as high a priority for the state,” said Placer County Transportation Planning Agency (PCTPA) Executive Director Celia McAdam. “We’re now seeing the results of decades of planning, collaboration, and hard work from multiple agencies in this key project for traffic relief in the region. Making the Bypass four lanes to Wise Road will save Placer County residents 834 daily vehicle hours of delay and $50 million in travel time over 20 years.”

The Bypass’ first phase generated more than $32 million in construction cost savings, with nearly $25 million put back into the CMIA cost savings pot. The remaining $7 million in cost savings was returned to local developer impact fees. The PCTPA and Caltrans District 3 team’s history of fast construction starts and strong budgetary discipline well positioned them to compete for and win the CMIA funding for Phase 2a.

McAdam noted that, while this award is a tremendous coup for the county, there is much yet to be done. “As critical as the Lincoln Bypass is, Placer has many other major transportation needs we need to tackle. Keeping Placer moving means we have to work on creative options for local transportation funding so that we can continue to compete for and win future state and federal funds.”