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 were completed in 2009.

Design – Efforts are underway. Final design is scheduled for completion in 2009.

Construction – Construction contract awarded June 2008 for Phase 1 and project construction began September 2008. Phase 1 is scheduled for completion in Spring 2012.

Phase 1 of the Lincoln Bypass, estimated at over $295.6 million, is constructing a 4 lane segment from Industrial Avenue to Markham Ravine (approximately 4.5 miles), with 2 lanes the remaining segment to Sheridan. Phase 1 includes purchase of right of way for the entire 4 lane project. Funding currently committed to the Lincoln Bypass comes from a variety of sources including federal, state, and local sources in addtiion to local developer impact fees.

Phase 2 would extend the 4-lane segment from Markham Raving to Sheridan at a cost of nearly $56 million. If full funding for Phase 2 cannot be found in the near future, an alternative option to extend the 4-lane segment to just north of Wise Road at a cost of $22 million, may be possible. Phase 3 would then be created to complete the 4-lane segment from Wise Road to Sheridan should this alterntative option be used.

Current Challenges

With the remaining phases of the project partially unfunded, completion of the project is contingent on a variety of factors. In addtion to the agressive pursuit of over $55 million in necessary funding, timely completion of Phase 1 within budget constraints, and using committed funding to keep Phase 2 on schedule are of great importance to the success of project completion.

Caltrans Project Web Page