South San Francisco, CA August 20, 2022 City website
Introduction
The City of South San Francisco and the San Mateo County Transportation Authority (SMCTA), as the project sponsors, propose to add an additional east-west connection across US 101 (referred to as the Utah Avenue extension) to accommodate future planned growth, and improve traffic operations with pedestrian and bicycle access in the City and vicinity of the project area. The intersections at South Airport Boulevard/Utah Avenue and San Mateo Avenue/Utah Avenue would also be reconstructed to include turning lanes and connect to the new overcrossing. The Airport Boulevard/Produce Avenue/San Mateo Avenue intersection would be modified, or reconstructed.
Notice of Availability and Public Meeting on Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Assessment
Caltrans, as the Lead Agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), has initiated a public review period and will conduct a virtual public meeting to request comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Assessment (EIR/EA) for the proposed project.
For more information on this project, including accessing and reviewing the Draft Environmental Document and to join the online meeting, visit CaltransD4Environmental.com. Click here to review the Draft Environmental Document.
Here are ways to review the project and be involved:
Review the Draft Environmental Document and Provide a Comment: Review the document at the links provided above. Please submit comments in writing by September 6, 2022, to Caltrans District 4, ATTN: Tanvi Gupta, P.O. Box 23660, MS 8B, Oakland, CA 94623-0660, or by email to Tanvi.Gupta@dot.ca.gov.
Project Summary
The project is considering one Build Alternative and a No Build alternative. The Build Alternative would include a new US 101 overcrossing that extends from the Utah Avenue/South Airport Boulevard intersection to San Mateo Avenue (referred to as the Utah Avenue extension), as well as to the South Airport Boulevard/Utah Avenue, San Mateo Avenue/Utah Avenue, and Airport Boulevard/Produce Avenue/San Mateo Avenue intersections. The overcrossing would provide two lanes in each direction. The overcrossing would span from the east side of US 101 and extend over Terminal Court, an existing city street and cul-de-sac adjacent to the Golden Gate Produce Market. The Build Alternative would also include new bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and signal modifications to accommodate Complete Streets design.
This project meets several objectives set forth in the Federal Surface Transportation Act. As noted above, the project includes enhanced bicycle and pedestrian improvements on the overcrossing and at major intersections that provide needed connectivity for these alternative modes of transportation. The City of South San Francisco has worked directly with the California Department of Transportation and San Mateo County Transportation Authority during the development of the project alternatives, environmental evaluation, and public outreach.
Background
The Project is included in the San Mateo County Transportation Authority’s Strategic Plan 2020-2024, which is funded by the San Mateo County Measure A sales tax for transportation projects and programs (originally approved by voters in 1988 and reauthorized by vote in 2004).
The existing east-west connections across US 101 within the city will not be able to accommodate projected growth in employment east of US 101. The purpose of the proposed project is to provide an additional east-west connection across US 101 to accommodate future planned growth, improve traffic operations with pedestrian and bicycle access in the City and vicinity of the project area.
This Project would include a new US 101 overcrossing extending from the Utah Avenue/South Airport Boulevard intersection to San Mateo Avenue (also referred to as the Utah Avenue extension). The intersections at South Airport Boulevard/Utah Avenue and San Mateo Avenue/Utah Avenue would also be reconstructed to include turning lanes and connect to the new overcrossing. The Airport Boulevard/Produce Avenue/San Mateo Avenue intersection would be modified, or reconstructed. The project will include bike lanes and sidewalks on the overcrossing, and signalized crosswalks and bike lanes at the affected intersections.
The City previously hosted a community meeting and open house on Tuesday, October 9th, 2018 to discuss the Project’s concepts and status. The Caltrans Project Study Report/Project Development Support document evaluated a number of alternatives, which were considered during the development of the proposed project.
Caltrans and the City previously filed a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Notice of Preparation (NOP) with the State Clearinghouse on August 10, 2021. A scoping meeting was held on August 24, 2021. The NOP contained information about the project scope, purpose and need, and planned environmental studies. The NOP can be viewed on-line at https://ceqanet.opr.ca.gov/2021080173.
The City, as the sponsor and implementing agency of the project, is responsible for the project’s preliminary design and environmental review, referred to by Caltrans as the Project Approval and Environmental Document (PA&ED) phase. Caltrans, as the owner and operator of US 101, is the Lead Agency for CEQA and NEPA activities, and approves this phase of work with input from the City.
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