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 2009.

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

Construction – Construction contract awarded June 2008 and project construction began September 2008.

Current Challenges

The state budget deficit for FY 2008/09 and FY 2009/10 has caused cash flow problems for the state, and the imbalance of the budget, combined with the tightened credit markets nationally, also means that the state is unable to sell Proposition 1B bonds to fund transportation project construction. This affects all the projects that receive Proposition 1B funds, including the Lincoln Byass.

About 95% of the construction funds for the Lincoln Bypass come from Proposition 1B’s Corridor Mobility Improvement Account (CMIA), with the remainder from the STIP. After passage of the laststate budget, the Lincoln Bypass project was barely saved from a complete shutdown; however, construction continues to progress. Uncertainty about shutting the project down still lingers with potential state budget revisions. Should it occur, shutdown of this project is estimated to add as much as $10 million to the project cost, and extend the schedule another 12 to 18 months.

Caltrans Project Web Page