City Council Agenda Report
TO: Mayor Clauzel and Members of the City Council
FROM: Fernando Ulloa, City Manager
BY: Fernando Ulloa, City Engineer
MEETING DATE: January 21, 2025
ITEM NO: 7.5
SUBJECT: Approve an additional Budget Appropriation for Environmental Permit Fees for the I-5/Sperry Avenue Traffic Interchange Project, authorize the Finance Department to Increase the budget by $101,206.50 in account 327-000-0-7576 for this project, and authorize the transfer of Funds from Fund 329 (Measure L) to Fund 327 (Streets) in the amount of $101,206.50 to fund the additional costs.
RECOMMENDATION
Motion to Approve an additional Budget Appropriation for Environmental Permit Fees for the I-5/Sperry Avenue Traffic Interchange Project, authorize the Finance Department to Increase the budget by $101,206.50 in account 327-000-0-7576 for this project, and authorize the transfer of Funds from Fund 329 (Measure L) to Fund 327 (Streets) in the amount of $101,206.50 to fund the additional costs.
BACKGROUND
Interstate 5 (I-5) is a four-lane freeway on the western limit of City of Patterson. According to the 2012 traffic counts obtained from the Caltrans website, I-5 carries between 37,000 to 41,000 vehicles per day in the vicinity of Sperry Avenue. For regional travel within western Stanislaus County, I-5 is a major north-south freeway to the west of the City of Patterson limits. I-5 connects to Interstate 580 (I-580), approximately 13 miles to the north of the City of Patterson. I5 and I-580 provide access to regional employment centers in Pleasanton, San Ramon, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Under Existing Conditions, the interchange of I-5/Sperry Avenue is configured as a tight diamond with a narrow undercrossing for Sperry Avenue and a steep drop in grade next to the northbound on-ramp. All ramps are one lane in width. The existing ramp intersections are stop-controlled at the off-ramps. The northbound on-ramp operates at a Level Of Service (LOS) ‘F’ during the A.M peak hours and a LOS ‘E’ during the P.M. peak hours.
The southbound off-ramp operates at a LOS ‘C’ during the A.M. peak hours and a LOS ‘F’ during the P.M. peak hours.
The project involves converting the I-5 Southbound (SB) and I-5 Northbound (NB) on/off ramps at Sperry Avenue to signal control with split phasing sequence. The geometry proposed involves modifying the I-5 SB ramps intersection to include an exclusive left and a shared left, through and right lane at the southbound off ramp, an exclusive left lane and a shared left and through lane at the westbound approach and two through lanes with a shared right turn lane at the eastbound approach. At the I-5 NB Ramps intersection, the lane geometry modification involved providing a shared left and through lane and two exclusive right turn lanes at the northbound off ramp, two through lanes and an exclusive right turn lane with a right turn channelized island at the westbound approach and a shared left and through lane and exclusive through lane at the eastbound approach.
Sperry Avenue will be modified to a four-lane roadway (east-west bound) requiring the existing 2-lane bridge over the California Aqueduct to be widened to four-lanes by adding an additional lane on either side of the existing bridge. The outer abutments to accommodate the proposed two additional bridge lanes are existing.
ANALYSIS
This project is currently in the design phase. The plans are at 95%. The next steps of the project are to secure permits required for construction and final environmental compliance. An addendum to the Biological Assessment (BA) was performed due to updated environmental regulations. The intent of this document is for Caltrans to use it to reinitiate Section 7 consultation with US Fish and Wildlife Service regarding newly listed species previously not evaluated, as well as the increase in mitigation requirements resulting from the addition of the auxiliary lanes required by Caltrans.
Below is a list of the permits and fees required to satisfy environmental compliance.
FISCAL IMPACT
$4,212.00 CA Water Board (401 WQC Application Fee)
$6,698.00 CA Department of Fish and Wildlife (1602 LSAA Fee) $40,296.50 CA Department of Fish and Wildlife (2081 ITP Permit Fee) $50,000.00 Department of Water Resource (Plan Review & Encroachment Permit Fee) $101,206.50 Total Permit Costs
$101,206.50 Total Funding
Current funding for this project is as follows:
Fund 329 - Measure L