The Monterey County Resource Management Agency - Public Works and Facilities Department is proposing to replace the existing two-lane, low-level Davis Road Bridge over the Salinas River with a longer bridge that meets current American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials requirements, and that will not flood during winter months as the current bridge does. The County is also proposing to widen Davis Road from two to four lanes for a distance of approximately 2.1 miles between Blanco Road and Reservation Road (see attached map).
Davis Road is identified as a critical link in a countywide transportation system, and widening the road is needed to handle future expected increases in traffic between the City of Salinas and the Monterey Peninsula. This section of Davis Road is included in the final Marina-Salinas Multimodal Corridor Plan, which calls for a bus rapid transit corridor and protected bike lane ("cycletrack") in this corridor. The plan was adopted by the Agency Board in 2015. During the planning efforts for the Marina-Salinas Multimodal Corridor, Agency staff worked closely with Monterey County staff to include the conceptual designs for the plan in the Davis Road Environmental Impact Report.
In July, the County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution certifying the Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Assessment for the project and directed County staff to proceed with final project design and other project implementation activities. As part of the project development phase, County staff, and other interested project stakeholders, will be undertaking a value engineering analysis exercise during the first week of October, to identify ways to improve the project. The cycletrack option will be revisited during this exercise, and TAMC staff will be participating in the discussions.