News
Funding to build a freeway interchange at Dorsey Drive — including an extra $3.6 million for a contingency fund in case prices rise unexpectedly in the next eight months — remains a top priority for the county, a transportation official said this week.
The Nevada County Transportation Commission has named the project and its contingency fund in a draft list of county projects to be sent to the California Transportation Commission in December, according to NCTC documents.
The only other projects on the short list are the widening of Highway 49 at La Barr Meadows Road, rebuilding the tunnel called the Mousehole on Highway 89 south of Truckee and funds for planning.
Transportation commissioners are set to meet in a special session on Dec. 14 to consider Grass Valley's request.
It's one day before the commission must send the list to the California Department of Transportation for the funding request, which can be made only once every two years.
One day is enough time to get the list in, said NCTC Executive Director Dan Landon.
“We're going to be fine,” he added.
But that close deadline makes Grass Valley City Councilman Dan Miller nervous, he said. Miller sits on the county Transportation Commission, which voted 6-1 to table the city's request last week.
He expressed concern at Tuesday's City Council meeting about securing the approval of his fellow commissioners for the contingency money.
“The reality of construction in that area” includes the likelihood of having to blast through solid granite — a process that could add $1 million to the project's budget and the need for the contingency fund, Miller said.
The California Department of Transportation estimated the Dorsey Drive project would cost nearly $17.1 million.
That estimate was made this summer; by the time the city of Grass Valley puts the project out to bid in July 2012, costs for fuel and steel could be much higher than those estimated by Caltrans, Landon said.
City officials also are concerned construction workers could find granite where they want to build onramps and offramps, requiring more-costly explosives instead of the dirt excavation for which Caltrans has budgeted. Other projects in that area, called Spring Hill, also have encountered granite, Miller said.
But the state requires the project to be fully funded ahead of time to go out to bid; it has earmarked more than $10.5 million for the project.
“If the bids come in high, and we say, ‘Oh gosh, we don't have enough money,' the state is going to say, ‘Oh gosh, why didn't you think of that ahead of time?'” Landon said.
So city officials are asking for an additional $3.6 million as a cushion. City Council members late Tuesday approved a formal request to NCTC to ask for the funds.
If the extra money is not needed, it goes back to NCTC to be used for other projects, city Public Works Director and Engineer Tim Kiser said.
He'll be working on details of the contingency fund and how the city arrived at that figure for the December meeting, Miller said.
The Dorsey Drive interchange has been a county priority “for years and years” because the county recognizes Grass Valley as the economic hub of the western end, said City Councilwoman Lisa Swarthout, who has sat on the Transportation Commission in the past.
The interchange would open up areas for development along Dorsey Drive, Idaho-Maryland Road and Sutton Way.
“We need to have the ability to provide the infrastructure to be the economic hub,” Swarthout added.
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To contact Senior Staff Writer Trina Kleist, e-mail tkleist@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4230.
The Nevada County Transportation Commission has named the project and its contingency fund in a draft list of county projects to be sent to the California Transportation Commission in December, according to NCTC documents.
The only other projects on the short list are the widening of Highway 49 at La Barr Meadows Road, rebuilding the tunnel called the Mousehole on Highway 89 south of Truckee and funds for planning.
Transportation commissioners are set to meet in a special session on Dec. 14 to consider Grass Valley's request.
It's one day before the commission must send the list to the California Department of Transportation for the funding request, which can be made only once every two years.
One day is enough time to get the list in, said NCTC Executive Director Dan Landon.
“We're going to be fine,” he added.
But that close deadline makes Grass Valley City Councilman Dan Miller nervous, he said. Miller sits on the county Transportation Commission, which voted 6-1 to table the city's request last week.
He expressed concern at Tuesday's City Council meeting about securing the approval of his fellow commissioners for the contingency money.
“The reality of construction in that area” includes the likelihood of having to blast through solid granite — a process that could add $1 million to the project's budget and the need for the contingency fund, Miller said.
The California Department of Transportation estimated the Dorsey Drive project would cost nearly $17.1 million.
That estimate was made this summer; by the time the city of Grass Valley puts the project out to bid in July 2012, costs for fuel and steel could be much higher than those estimated by Caltrans, Landon said.
City officials also are concerned construction workers could find granite where they want to build onramps and offramps, requiring more-costly explosives instead of the dirt excavation for which Caltrans has budgeted. Other projects in that area, called Spring Hill, also have encountered granite, Miller said.
But the state requires the project to be fully funded ahead of time to go out to bid; it has earmarked more than $10.5 million for the project.
“If the bids come in high, and we say, ‘Oh gosh, we don't have enough money,' the state is going to say, ‘Oh gosh, why didn't you think of that ahead of time?'” Landon said.
So city officials are asking for an additional $3.6 million as a cushion. City Council members late Tuesday approved a formal request to NCTC to ask for the funds.
If the extra money is not needed, it goes back to NCTC to be used for other projects, city Public Works Director and Engineer Tim Kiser said.
He'll be working on details of the contingency fund and how the city arrived at that figure for the December meeting, Miller said.
The Dorsey Drive interchange has been a county priority “for years and years” because the county recognizes Grass Valley as the economic hub of the western end, said City Councilwoman Lisa Swarthout, who has sat on the Transportation Commission in the past.
The interchange would open up areas for development along Dorsey Drive, Idaho-Maryland Road and Sutton Way.
“We need to have the ability to provide the infrastructure to be the economic hub,” Swarthout added.
ooo
To contact Senior Staff Writer Trina Kleist, e-mail tkleist@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4230.
