More than 30 years after it was proposed to prepare the community for the eventual development of the Nipomo Mesa, the ambitious—and sometimes controversial—Willow Road Extension Project is on its final leg.
Construction crews broke ground on the second and final phase of the project in early April, when the Central Coast-based Granite Construction Co. began installing median detours for the Willow Road interchange.
The scope of the entire project includes extending the heavily frequented Willow Road from Pomeroy to North Thompson Avenue through a Highway 101 underpass.
According to Dale Ramey, transportation project manager for the San Luis Obispo County Public Works Department, the first phase of the project—connecting Pomeroy to Hetrick Road via Willow Road—is scheduled to be completed in May.
The second phase of the project includes extending Willow from Hetrick Road to Highway 101, where north- and south-bound on- and off-ramps will be installed, and following Willow through to North Thompson.
The whole project, according to Ramey, is expected by be finished by November 2012, and will be followed by a year-long maintenance period, where crews will continue to make adjustments and monitor a number of trees planted in various locations.
One of the long-time hurdles for the project was funding. County planners said the incoming road improvement fees began to dwindle while construction costs continued to rise, partly due to growth limits established in the South SLO County area.
“The amount of [State Transportation Improvement Program] funds available to the county has been decreasing over the past years and may not be available at all in the future. Other funding sources have been reduced in funding amounts or have been eliminated,” Ramey said. “Fortunately for the project, bid prices came in low and [allowed] the county to award the contract.”
At one point, even as late as last year, the project was still facing a $14.8 million shortfall; planning officials were considering capping the Willow Road extension to Hwy. 101 and nixing the idea of extending access to North Thompson—a move that still would have left the county approximately $10.8 million short.
That full extension stayed in, however, after officials were able to secure enough funds through a combination of road improvement fees, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars, fees from Proposition 1B, and STIP funds.
“The entire project is funded,” Ramey told the Sun.
The contract fees for the second phase are more than $16.3 million, and the county has so far secured $10 million in STIP funding and $1 million in Prop. 1B funding. The remainder, Ramey said, should be covered by road improvement fees.
In case the fees don’t go up, he said, the county also secured approval from the Board of Supervisors for a bridge loan, which would absorb the initial costs and would be paid off by future road improvement fees.
“It looks like we won’t have to use the general fund. At this point, everything is to be paid for by the road improvement fees,” Ramey said. “If we do use the loan, then road improvement fees would pay back the general fund.”
The entire project is expected to land at $42 million.
But funding wasn’t the only hurdle that took time to clear. Environmental impact reports took a considerable amount of time to be prepared and approved, but they ultimately resulted in additional funding from Caltrans, Ramey said.
And though the county has the right of entry for construction on two parcels of land adjacent to Willow Road, county counsel is considering eminent domain proceedings after disputes on amounts offered for the spaces.
Another area of contention related to the removal of hundreds of large oak trees to make room for the newly extended road and interchange. So far, crews have felled roughly 800 oaks at least 6 inches or larger in diameter.
Some replacement trees are being planted between the ramps and the highway, and the county is preparing plans for a 22-acre “Oak Woodlands Habitat,” where more than 4,000 acorns will be planted on county-owned property on Thompson Avenue, opposite the historic Dana Adobe site, Ramey said.
Work on that site is expected to start in the fall.
The project is being touted by officials not only as a means to relieve traffic problems, but also as the long-awaited first step in attracting the economic growth necessary for an eventual incorporation.
“It is very, very important for those primary reasons to improve the congestion at Tefft [Street], which right now is the only interchange in a community of over 14,000 people,” said Chuck Stevenson, long-range planning manager for the county’s Department of Planning and Building.
“The morning commute is just brutal, and those who need to get to the highway or to get to [Nipomo High School] just have to wade through it all,” he said. “This project is critical to relieving that problem.”
In addition, Stevenson said, the future development of Crystal Oaks into a possible location for commercial properties, as envisioned in the community’s general plan—and Nipomo’s future as it continues to explore incorporation—will rely on such infrastructure improvements.
“It’s like a domino effect,” Stevenson said.
County officials plan to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark completion of the project’s first phase in May.
Contact Staff Writer Matt Fountain at mfountain@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 21-28, 2011.