LAKEPORT – Plans to install a traffic light at the intersection of Highway 281 and 29 – also known as Kit's Corner – are moving ahead.
On Tuesday, County Public Works Director Gerald Shaul received the Board of Supervisors' approval to enter into a cooperative agreement with Caltrans that will enable the project to go forward.
In an interview after the meeting Shaul explained that the agreement is required because, although Highway 29 is a state highway, one of the “legs” – or roads – at the intersection is county maintained.
The agreement also is necessary if the project is to receive California Transportation Commission funds, Shaul said.
The agreement states the responsibilities of the various agencies, Shaul said. In this case, Caltrans will pay for the intersection's maintenance, while the county will cover electrical costs.
Ann Marie Jones, a Caltrans spokesperson, said Tuesday that the project is estimated to cost $500,000. Construction is scheduled to begin in September, she said, and is expected to last about 65 days.
Shaul told the board that the county originally was to have paid $250,000 toward the project. However, he said, further negotiations resulted in the county only being required to pay $33,000.
“I would encourage the board to sign this agreement before someone figures out the math is wrong,” he said.
He said Caltrans was having four copies of the agreement delivered to the county by the end of the day.
The board approved the agreement 3-0, with Supervisors Ed Robey and Anthony Farrington away in Washington, D.C.
The stoplight issue has been one of concern in recent years for residents of the Clear Lake Rivieras, who have pointed to serious accidents around the intersection as the need for a signal.
At community meetings in the fall of 2004, residents asked Caltrans to consider a stoplight. Originally, the response from Caltrans officials was that the intersection didn't meet the necessary standards.
However, by the following summer the agency had changed its mind, and began planning the signal project. At that point, the traffic light was estimated to cost $1 million.
Board approves next phase of Soda Bay project
Shaul also received the board's approval for the next phase in the Soda Bay-South Main Street project, which he said will include placing utilities underground, installing eight-foot bike lanes and a continuous turn lane down to the Manning Creek bridge.
“We need improvements down there,” said Shaul, citing a “preponderence” of accidents in the area and traffic congestion.
The project's next phase involves environmental and archaeological studies of the area, Shaul said after the meeting.
Shaul briefly explained to the board the project's “complicated funding picture,” which he said includes federal funds that Congressman Mike Thompson got for the project through Congress, as well as State Transportation Improvement Project money.
Rather than approving the project all at once, Shaul said after the meeting, “The board preferred that we did it in phases.”
There are many more phases to come in the project, said Shaul, and a lot of variables that make it difficult to predict when the project might be complete.
However, he said the county hopes the project's environmental study portion will be completed by next year at the latest.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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