Project Background
The Monterey County Rail Extension project extends passenger rail service from Santa Clara County south to Salinas. This is a transformative project that will revitalize the downtown Salinas train station and create new multimodal transportation hubs for the disadvantaged communities of Pajaro and Castroville.
These multimodal stations will be served by new passenger rail service and bus transit that will provide peak period connections for the residents of Salinas and their north Monterey County, Monterey Peninsula and Santa Cruz County neighbors, to access Silicon Valley, San Jose, the greater San Francisco Bay Area, and Sacramento. In recognition of the importance of service to these populations, the 2018 California State Rail Plan includes the Monterey County Rail Extension Project in the near-term (2022) scenario.
TAMC is pursuing a phased implementation of the Monterey County Rail Extension Project. Phase 1, known as the Kick Start Project, includes Salinas train station circulation improvements, a train layover facility, and track improvements at the Gilroy station and between Salinas and Gilroy. Phase 2 will be the Pajaro/Watsonville Multimodal Transit Hub, the connection point for Santa Cruz County, and Phase 3 will be the Castroville Multimodal Station, the connection point for Monterey Peninsula, both of which are currently on hold at 60% with no funding for the next steps. Staff intends to apply for funding for one or both stations at the next opportunity.
In the meantime, the Kick Start Project is fully funded with $81 million in state funding, and is proceeding with construction of Package 1, improvements at the Salinas train station. The layover facility and track improvements are ready for final design, pending comments from Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR).
Structure Demolition
Bowen Engineering and Environmental has completed the demolition of structures at the Salinas train station, and found no surprise foundations or other complications. The MNS Engineers construction management team are undertaking Best Management Practices (BMPs) under the approved Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP), just in time for the onset of winter rains.
Caltrans
Caltrans approved the project encroachment permit on November 28, 2018. The construction team will need to apply for a "double permit" prior to starting work, and the City will need to provide Caltrans a copy of a "no parking" ordinance or resolution on State Route 183 (Market Street) at Stone Street.
City of Salinas
TAMC and City staff continue to meet regularly to coordinate on utility relocation and permits needed to proceed with construction of Package 1. The City approved the revised Stormwater Control Plan, which governs how the project takes stormwater runoff into consideration with design elements such as bioswales. TAMC has submitted encroachment and grading/drainage permits to the City for the project, along with the final plans.
The TAMC Board approved a reimbursement agreement on December 5 and the City Council approved it on December 18, 2018, so that the City's storm drain and sanitary sewer project now includes elements within Caltrans right-of-way that otherwise would have been connections from the project to the City's relocated storm drain pipes. The City's storm drain and sanitary sewer relocation project is estimated to begin in May, pending Caltrans approval of the project's encroachment permit and pending City Council approval of bid documents and contract for the work.
TAMC and City staff are working with PG&E, AT&T and Comcast regarding relocation of their gas line and cables into the new Lincoln Avenue Extension, with the goal of integrating that relocation work into the storm drain/ sanitary sewer relocation timeline and to avoid significant delays to the overall roadway project construction.
Northern California Megaregion Group
TAMC staff attended a meeting of the Northern California Megaregion Group on November 13, 2018, followed by meetings with Caltrain, Caltrans and the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) to discuss the extension operations scenario and next steps on the Monterey Bay Area rail network integration study.
The earliest Caltrain can project initiation of diesel rail operations to Salinas would be 2022. The proposed initiation of High-Speed Rail (HSR) service on the Gilroy-San Francisco line in 2027 would impact the operations of rail service south of Gilroy, so CalSTA directed TAMC to include the consideration of the evolution of that service into the network integration study.
Next steps in the near-term operations negotiations is to discuss the proposed schedule with Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) regarding track rights and in order to enable UPRR to review the 75% design plans for Package 2 (Salinas layover facility) and Package 3 (Gilroy station and track improvements).
California High-Speed Rail Technical Working Group
TAMC staff attended meetings of the California High-Speed Rail Technical Working Groups for Gilroy and Morgan Hill on November 7 and 28, 2018. The HSR project is updating their environmental documents with the goal of publishing a "preferred alternative" route and station location in Gilroy by September 2019. Their conceptual plans for the downtown Gilroy station reserve two tracks for "UPRR/TAMC" service with a platform for passengers to transfer to the HSR train. TAMC will stay involved and supportive of the downtown Gilroy alignment.
Staff will provide a verbal update on all activities at the meeting.