To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Transportation and Public Works
Staff Name and Phone Number: Johannes J. Hoevertsz, 707-565-2231
Vote Requirement: 4/5th
Supervisorial District(s): Fifth
Title:
Title
Bohemian Highway Bridge Replacement Project Final Environmental Impact Report
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Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Adopt a resolution certifying the Final Environmental Impact Report for the Bohemian Highway Bridge replacement project; and
B) Adopt a resolution making and adopting a Statement of Overriding Considerations (SOC), adopting a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, and approving the Bohemian Highway Bridge replacement project.
C) Adopt a Resolution authorizing a budget adjustment to the Transportation and Public Works FY 2022-23 Final Budget in the amount of $30,000 for consulting and community engagement expenses associated with improvement planning for the Monte Rio triangle, funded with FY 2022-23 General Fund Contingencies. (4/5 vote required)
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Executive Summary:
The Department of Transportation and Public Works (TPW) is requesting adoption of a Resolution certifying the Final Environmental Impact Report for the proposed Bohemian Highway Bridge replacement project, and adoption of a Resolution making and adopting a Mitigation Monitoring program and approving the Bohemian Highway Bridge replacement project.[
The proposed project to replace the existing Bohemian Highway Bridge over the Russian River in Monte Rio is a critical infrastructure project. Because the existing bridge is a designated local historic landmark, an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) has been required for the project, which will entail demolition of the existing, structurally deficient bridge structure. A draft EIR was published and brought to hearing for public comment on May 17, 2022. Based on comments received during the public comment period and hearing, a proposed Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) with Responses to Comments was produced. That FEIR was presented to your Board on August 9, 2022, and staff was directed to return the matter to your Board for adoption of all required certifications, findings, and related actions to allow the project to be approved and to proceed.
The Final Environmental Impact Report and all required certifications, findings, and related materials have now been finalized and are presented to your Board for certification and final approval. With the recommended actions and accompanying materials being approved today, the required environmental analysis, review, and public input processes, including under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and Sonoma County Code Chapter 23A, are now complete and the Bohemian Highway Bridge replacement project can be finally approved and proceed to next project delivery phases.
Discussion:
The existing Bohemian Highway Bridge over the Russian River in Monte Rio is a steel and concrete structure built in 1934. The current structure is considered seismically and structurally obsolete by Caltrans and would require extensive retrofitting in order to meet current state and federal standards. A feasibility study prepared by Drake Haglan & Associates in 2013 concluded that Caltrans and the Federal Highway and Bridge Program would only consider funding a replacement bridge due to the high cost of seismic retrofit and the short life-span of a rehabilitation. In December 2015, County staff facilitated a community meeting to discuss the feasibility study, and a petition requesting the County fast-track the project was signed by approximately 150 local residents. Design and engineering for a new, replacement bridge started in October 2017.
The proposed bridge is being designed to meet the current American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) bridge design standards and the seismic design would in accordance with the Caltrans Seismic Design Criteria and Seismic Design for Steel Bridges. The bridge would vary in width, from approximately 52 feet at the approaches to approximately 60 feet at the main span. The bridge would be supported on concrete piers with deep, large diameter cast-in-drilled-hole piles, embedded up to approximately 120 feet below the riverbed. Rock slope protection (RSP) would be installed at both abutments for scour protection.
The proposed roadway would be designed to provide a multimodal route for vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians and would connect to Main Street in Monte Rio west of the existing bridge and east of Moscow Road, and terminate at Bohemian Highway at the south end of the triangle and south of SR 116. The proposed roadway design would accommodate two 12-foot vehicular lanes (one lane in each direction), concrete barriers, the steel arch members, and 5-foot shoulders/Class II bike lanes and 6-foot pedestrian sidewalks/Class I bike lanes on both sides of the bridge.
The Project construction is estimated to be completed over three consecutive years. Traffic will continue to use the existing bridge in years one and two. For the third year, traffic would be switched to the new bridge as the old structure is deconstructed. Construction would occur year- round, generally on weekdays, with in-channel and over-water work occurring in the low flow summer months. Construction related Best Management Practices will avoid or minimize environmental impacts associated with the Project to the extent feasible.
Due to the historical significance of the existing bridge, its removal and replacement would cause a significant environmental impact to a cultural resource. Therefore, an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is required for this Project. The County is the Lead Agency for the Project under CEQA because it has regulatory authority over the Project, which is a County asset.
A Draft EIR was publicly noticed in April 2022 with the required 45-day comment period ending on May 18, 2022. A public hearing to take comments on the Draft EIR was held on May 17, 2022. Comments were received from a variety of stakeholders and interested persons. An additional public meeting was held on August 9, 2022, for any further comment and input on the proposed Final Environmental Impact Report.
All comments that have been received throughout the extensive review and comment process have been evaluated and addressed by providing additional explanation in the Response to Comments, revising the narrative in the Draft EIR, and clarifying or amplifying the proposed mitigation measures. Comments and questions received were determined to not raise any significant new information requiring major substantive revisions or new analyses in the Draft EIR, thus recirculation was not required.
A Final EIR has now been prepared with a complete set of Responses to Comments and otherwise in accordance with the requirements of CEQA and the implementing provisions under the Sonoma County Code. The Final EIR concludes that, with one exception, all the Project’s impacts on the environment are either less than significant or can be mitigated to less than significant levels. The one impact that is significant and which cannot be mitigated is the impact to a cultural resource due to the loss (demolition) of the existing bridge, which is a designated historic landmark and thus a recognized cultural resource.
Materials required to approve the Project, including formal findings and a Statement of Overriding Considerations, have now been prepared. Appropriate monitoring conditions related to tribal and cultural resources have been included and clarified as needed.
Failure to certify the Final EIR will delay the Project and jeopardize project funding. The Project is financed in part by the State of California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and is subject to funding deadlines which already have had to be extended in the past. The County has committed with Caltrans to reaching certain project delivery milestones to avoid further delay, and certification of the Final EIR is prerequisite to those achieving those milestones.
At the August 9th Board meeting, staff was directed to initiate preliminary planning efforts for potential improvements to the triangle area formed by the intersections of State Route 116, Bohemian Highway and D Street, locally known as the Monte Rio triangle. TPW, in coordination with Regional Parks Department, will engage a consultant for preliminary conceptual designs and community engagement for potential triangle area project options, with General Fund contingency funding.
Strategic Plan:
This item directly support the County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective.
Pillar: Resilient Infrastructure
Goal: Goal 3: Continue to invest in critical road, bridge, bicycle, and pedestrian infrastructure.
Objective: Objective 4: Identify and retrofit bridges in County that are at high risk for damage during earthquakes.
Prior Board Actions:
August 9, 2022- Board review of proposed Final EIR for Bohemian Highway Bridge Replacement Project
May 17, 2022- Board public hearing on Draft EIR for Bohemian Highway Bridge Replacement Project
December 7, 2021 - Resolution Taking Jurisdiction Over the Proposed Monte Rio Bridge Project Environmental Impact Report
October 24, 2017- Original design contract awarded to Biggs Cardosa
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY 22-23 Adopted |
FY23-24Projected |
FY 24-25 Projected |
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Budgeted Expenses |
|
|
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|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
$30,000 |
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$30,000 |
|
|
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
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State/Federal |
|
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
|
|
|
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Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
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Contingencies |
$30,000 |
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$30,000 |
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|
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Additional appropriations of $30,000 are requested to finance consulting services for the potential Monte Rio triangle improvements and community engagement, to be funded with FY 2022-23 General Fund Contingencies.
There are no additional fiscal impacts associated with this Board Item. The project is currently in the preliminary engineering/design phase under a contract approved by this Board on October 24, 2017. Prior to commencement of the construction phase, Transportation and Public Works staff will return to the Board for approval of construction and construction management contracts.
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None.
Attachments:
Final EIR
Resolution Adopting a Statement of Overriding Considerations (with Exhibits A - E)
Resolution Certifying Final EIR
Budget Resolution
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None.