Highway 65 Lincoln Bypass

Overview

The Lincoln Bypass will provide a new thoroughfarefor Highway 65 through the Lincoln area. Currently, Highway 65 goes through the heart of downtown Lincoln on F Street, causing traffic to slow to a crawl as it merges with local traffic and the five traffic signals through town. The Lincoln Bypass will be a new road starting at Industrial Boulevard, will move traffic around the City of Lincoln, and will connect back to the existing Highway 65 near Sheridan.

Partners

Caltrans – Because Highway 65 is a state highway and more than 50% of the funding will come from state and federal funds, Caltrans is required to take the lead on developing and building the Lincoln Bypass.

City of Lincoln – The City land-use plans must be compatible with the future bypass. The City needs an early decision on the route location in order to ensure it is compatible with growth in the region.  The City has also pledged funding for the Bypass.

Placer County – The County land use plans must be compatible with the future bypass. The County needs an early decision on the route location in order to ensure it meets the need for the expected growth in the region.  The County has also pledged funding for the Bypass.

PCTPA – As the Regional Transportation Planning Agency (RTPA) for Placer County, the PCTPA Board determines which projects will be funded with the County’s portion of State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) funding. The PCTPA Board has selected the Lincoln Bypass as the top priority project in the county and will continue to program funding to support this effort.

SPRTA – The South Placer Regional Transportation Authority (SPRTA) is a Joint Powers Authority formed by the Cities of Lincoln, Rocklin, Roseville, and Placer County to impose and administer regional traffic impact fees known as the Regional Transportation and Air Quality Mitigation Fee. $27.9 million of this regional fee is slated to fund the Lincoln Bypass.

Status/Schedule

Draft environmental document – Completed

Final environmental document – Final approvals completed July 2006.

Right of way acquisition – Advance efforts to preserve and acquire both environmental mitigation land and actual right of way have been underway for several years.  Acquisition is expected to be complete in 2008.

Design – Efforts are underway. Final design is scheduled for completion in 2008.

Construction – Construction contract awarded June 2008.

Current Challenges

Because of project and construction cost escalations that outstripped funding availability over the past decade, the project had been scaled back from a full 4 lane facility to being 4 lanes from Industrial Avenue to Nelson Lane, and two lanes north to Sheridan.

In May 2008, construction bids were opened on the Lincoln Bypass.  While additional verifications must still be completed, it appears that the low bid of $137.1 million will yield a savings of approximately $35 million.  This savings, resulting from the highly competitive construction bid environment we are currently experiencing, provides a major opportunity to restore the Lincoln Bypass project back to its original parameters.

PCTPA staff has been working pro-actively with both Caltrans and the CTC to ensure that these cost savings are put towards finishing the Lincoln Bypass and not reallocated to projects elsewhere.  These initial discussions indicate the need for a lot of persistence and creativity on PCTPA’s part to work through the complex, convoluted, and even conflicting requirements from Caltrans and the CTC.  PCTPA is aggressively pursuing this effort, and is acting quickly to prevent any project funding from beging diverted. 

Caltrans Project Web Page

Is the State transportation bond good for Placer?

State Transportation Infrastructure Bond Summary: A Placer Perspective