RECEIVE an update on State Route 156/Castroville Boulevard Interchange project and a presentation on the current project design.

This presentation updates the Committee as Caltrans nears the 30% design milestone for the State Route 156/Castroville Boulevard Interchange project. 

The State Route 156 / Castroville Boulevard Interchange project is the first of three segments that make up the larger State Route 156 Widening project. The Caltrans-estimated cost of this first segment is $55,200,000. 

Funding for the project is programmed from several sources, including the Regional Transportation Improvement Program (State funds), local Measure X revenues, and regional development impact fees.  In addition, the Transportation Agency is preparing to submit an SB 1 (state gas taxes and fees) competitive grant application for $20 million. 

Tolling is not part of this first segment of the project.

State Route 156 is one of the major thoroughfares used by residents, commuters, tourists, and commercial trucks traveling to and from the Monterey Peninsula.  More than 32,000 vehicles travel along this route each weekday.  At the intersection with Castroville Boulevard, there is an above average rate of injury collisions. In fact, there were 378 collisions on SR 156 during the five-year period from January 2005 to December 2010, 20% higher than the state average for highways of this type.

The full corridor project in the 2013 Environmental Impact Report, envisions not only the Castroville Boulevard interchange, but also a new 4-lane corridor to the south of the existing highway and a new interchange at US 101 with improved connections to San Miguel Canyon Road.  Due to funding constraints,  the project was split into three usable segments:

• Segment 1 is the new interchange at Castroville Boulevard.
• Segment 2 is a new four-lane road between Castroville Boulevard and US 101.
• Segment 3 is a new SR 156/US 101 interchange.

Measure X, approved by 67.7% of the voters on November 8, 2016, provides $30 million in funds for Segment 1 of the project.

Segment 1, the Castroville Boulevard interchange, will provide critical safety improvements by removing the only stop light in the corridor, constructing a new interchange to separate traffic movements, and improving the connection between the new bridge and existing pathway for students walking and bicycling to the high school.   

The completed SR 156 / Castroville Boulevard  Interchange will have full independent utility and will accommodate future segments of the State Route 156 Widening project, as well as a future connection to the nearby Castroville industrial park via Blackie Road (a County of Monterey project).

The project team is currently conducting right-of-way acquisition, permit applications and engineering design work.  Construction is scheduled to begin in October, 2022 and be completed in July, 2024. 

Staff will review the latest project status and designs at the meeting. A map of the latest Segment 1 design is attached. 

In an effort to qualify for Solutions for Congested Corridor SB 1 grant funds, Staff is preparing a "hybrid" multi-modal corridor plan built from prior planning efforts on State Route 156. The "hybrid" plan integrates prior studies, public involvement, and proposed projects (Alternative 11) into a document consistent with the 2018 Comprehensive Multimodal Corridor Plan Guidelines. The upcoming grant cycle is the last time that agencies can rely on previously conducted studies for a multi-modal corridor document to qualify for the program. The State Route 156 Multi-Modal Corridor Plan is anticipated to be brought to the Board for adoption in March 2020.