pages: TransportationCommission/2012-09-26.pdf, 4
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TransportationCommission | 2012-09-26 | 4 | Commissioner Wong asked when they remove the 29th Avenue overcrossing, would southbound I-880 be accessible. Garrett Gritz explained that during the day it would be open. However, there would be some nighttime closures and they would realign the on-ramp to accommodate the construction and that would happen late at night. Furthermore, there would be a period of time that they would close the freeway in both directions, but not at the same time. Commissioner Vargas asked Garrett Gritz whether the County of Alameda was included in the coordination list and whether he could talk about any coordination with potential bridge improvements that might happen during the construction to alleviate any concerns that Commissioner Wong had. Garrett Gritz explained the County does have a retrofit project schedule during the four-year construction period and they have participated in the coordination meetings. The seismic project along with several others are all part of the traffic management plan. Commissioner Vargas referred to Jim Strehlow's comments about the funding and whether that impacted the side of the structures and if there were any comments on the Environmental Impact Report on air quality impacts in terms of the traffic perspective in Alameda. Garrett Gritz explained that the environmental document was circulated in early 2010 and they had a meeting at the Alameda Transportation Commission to let the public know that the document was circulating. Regarding the greenhouse gas emissions, the project is an operational and safety improvement project. Thus, the implementation of the project would decrease the travel time for northbound I-880, which would increase travel flow for northbound I-880 and decrease greenhouse gas emissions. He exclaimed that all funding is in place (a total of $75 million) because they maintained a specific project schedule and the project is schedule driven. He has personally been working on the project for several years and he has let the public know about what they are trying to accomplish. Commissioner Vargas asked Alameda staff if they had a public awareness campaign in place to promote awareness of the construction changes and various detours. Garrett Gritz replied Staff Khan was instrumental in implementing the contingency plan. The contingency plan is set up where there is a committee that meets at least a once a month and the members include a representative from the City of Alameda, City of Oakland, and Caltrans Traffic Management Plan Coordinator. Caltrans administers the contract and Staff Khan advocated a mechanism to where everyone can communicate. So, any member of the committee would be able to call a meeting whether in person or by conference call and the meeting would have to happen within 12 hours. Additionally, the Caltrans Public Information Officer is required to attend public meetings and would answer questions from the community directed towards Caltrans. Ultimately, Staff Khan accomplished a lot in order to make sure communication was there and the document was circulated amongst the agencies (Alameda, Caltrans and Oakland). Commissioner Bertken felt Commissioner Vargas was talking about putting together a public Page 4 of 10 | TransportationCommission/2012-09-26.pdf |