Document daYqjpop4Q1bVmQb3M6MmO5R0

FY25-2026 Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant (MPDG) Opportunity Funding Opportunity Number: NSMFHP-25-26-INFRA & RSTGP-25-26-RURAL Project Description: Plumas Lake Boulevard / SR 70 Interchange Project (Phase 2) Project Location The location of the Plumas Lake Boulevard /SR 70 Interchange Project (Phase 2) is on the east side of the unincorporated community of Plumas Lake in South Yuba County. As the name implies, the project is at the intersection of SR 70 and Plumas Lake Boulevard. Figure 1 shows the project location: Figure 1: Project Location Map Plumas Lake Blvd - SR 70 Interchange Project Figure 1 N A 3 O Mies Legend * Project Location I=1 Yuba County Boundary OST-2025-1200 Page 02867 Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 Dewberry Au:bar I crauo _as: updated 01 Wedres0ay_ Aprll 5. 2023 SC_EVERSPLIT0028577 Project Description: Plumas Lake Boulevard /SR 70 Interchange Project (Phase 2) Project History An interchange in the Plumas Lake area of southern Yuba County was first proposed in the Route 70 Freeway Agreement executed between the County and Caltrans on October 18, 1965. In 1977, in response to several development proposals in the area, the County initiated studies of alternative interchange improvements on State Route 70 (SR 70). A project Study Report was approved in 1999, which recommended an interchange alternative for the purposes of programming project funds. The project was included in Measure R, which Yuba County voters approved in January 1998. In 2005, the County of Yuba began the design and construction of a modified partial-cloverleaf (L-9) interchange on SR 70 at Plumas Lake Boulevard. Funding restrictions required that the County construct the project in two phases. Yuba County completed construction of the Plumas Lake Boulevard / SR 70 Interchange (Phase 1) in 2009. Phase 1 constructed an interchange to allow traveling motorists to exit SR 70 in the community of Plumas Lake using Plumas Lake Boulevard. Due to funding constraints, Phase 1 did not include an extension of the overpass to connect to the Sports and Entertainment Zone to the east of Plumas Lake (east of SR 70). Phase 2 will extend Plumas Lake Boulevard using two bridges, one spanning the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) and one spanning the Western Pacific Interceptor Canal (WPIC), to connect easterly to Plumas-Arboga Road. This extension allows for the elimination of the existing atgrade UPRR crossing on Plumas-Arboga Road and will allow increased traffic volumes from Plumas Lake and SR 70 to safely access the Sports and Entertainment Zone (including the Hard Rock Casino and the Toyota Amphitheatre). The extension will also serve the proposed location for a new North Valley Rail Stop that will extend passenger rail service from Sacramento to Plumas Lake, Gridley, and Chico. Please see Figure 2 for a layout of the proposed project area: Figure 2: Project Layout Algoclon Road Proposed location for new North Valley Rail Stop Removed roadway sections, including atgrade UPRR crossing. Plumas-Arboga Road New Extension over UPRR and WPIC 2 'Page Plumas Lake UPRR Line OST-2025-1200 Page 02868 Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 SC_EVERSPLIT0028578 Project Description: Plumas Lake Boulevard /SR 70 Interchange Project (Phase 2) The purpose of the project is to construct an interchange on SR 70 and a railroad grade separation near Algodon Road, thereby upgrading access to SR 70 and improving both local traffic circulation and tourist traffic across the UPRR and WPIC. The interchange is needed because projected traffic volumes will exceed the capacity of the existing at-grade intersection on SR 70 and Plumas-Arboga Road, resulting in unacceptable traffic congestion. Grade separation will allow projected traffic to cross the UPRR without unacceptable traffic congestion and associated safety issues. The project includes sidewalks to the eastern limit of the UPRR bridge and the second bridge (over the WPIC) has widened shoulders to accommodate future sidewalks and current bicycle facilities. Transportation Challenges: The only access to SR 70 in the project area is the intersection at Plumas Lake Boulevard, which serves residential properties. Peak traffic conditions in the area occur during events at the Toyota Amphitheater. Inbound event traffic on SR 70 is typically routed north to McGowan Parkway, east to SR 65, and south to the amphitheater, resulting in severe congestion on McGowan Parkway. McGowan Parkway is a two-lane roadway lined with homes. In addition, the route is circuitous, approximately six miles longer than the direct route available via PlumasArboga Road. A more recent addition to the Sports and Entertainment Zone east of SR 70 is the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino at Fire Mountain, which opened in 2019. The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is built on a 40-acre site on 40 Mile Road, approximately three miles northeast of the project area. The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino boasts a 62,000 square-foot casino, six restaurants, a 170room hotel, a 2,500-seat concert venue, and a gas station. The construction of this new attraction has exacerbated the traffic issues relating to the at-grade crossing of the UPRR at Algodon Road, which is currently the only crossing point for traffic heading east from the community of Plumas Lake. The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino employs over 4,800 people. Current estimates are that the Sports and Entertainment Zone will add an additional 9,000 jobs by the year 2050. The Plumas Lake Specific Plan includes both residential and commercial development affecting approximately 5,000 acres west of SR-70 between Olivehurst on the north and the Bear River on the south. Projected traffic volumes will exceed the capacity of the existing two-lane signalized railroad crossing. Additionally, event traffic associated with the Toyota Amphitheater is already creating severe congestion on McGowan Parkway and Plumas-Arboga Road. Phase 2 of the Plumas Lake Boulevard / SR 70 Interchange project will address these challenges by improving access to the Plumas Lake Specific Plan Area, the Toyota Amphitheater, and the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. This will be accomplished by extending Plumas Lake Boulevard to the east, constructing vertically separated crossings of the UPRR and the WPIC, and ultimately connecting with Plumas-Arboga Road. The project also includes the construction of a SR 70 southbound loop on-ramp dedicated for westbound Plumas Lake Boulevard traffic. This alignment will reduce congestion, eliminate an at-grade railroad crossing, reduce delays, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and improve the local economy by providing safe and convenient access to the Sports and Entertainment Zone along Forty Mile Road. This includes access to the Toyota Amphitheater, the Hard Rock Hotel 3IPage OST-2025-1200 Page 02869 Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 SC_EVERSPLIT0028579 Project Description: Plumas Lake Boulevard /SR 70 Interchange Project (Phase 2) & Casino, and the proposed North Valley Rail Stop that will extend passenger rail service from Sacramento to Plumas Lake, Yuba City, Gridley, and Chico. Current Design Status: Yuba County is nearly finished with the design for the Plumas Lake Boulevard / SR 70 Interchange (Phase 2) and anticipates being ready to begin construction in 2026. The initial Project Report was approved by Caltrans in 2005. The County has already submitted the Type Selection Reports and the Air Quality Reports to Caltrans. The County completed CEQA and NEPA in 2009 and is preparing addendums to those documents that will be completed in August 2024. The County anticipates that all right-of-way acquisitions will be complete by June 2025. Statement of Work: Phase 2 of the Plumas Lake Boulevard / SR 70 Interchange project will construct the remaining portion of the interchange that extends Plumas Lake Boulevard eastward, providing access east of the UPRR and WPIC. Construction of Phase 2 includes the following improvements: An approximately 0.46-mile extension of Plumas Lake Boulevard east from the SR 70 NB Ramps to Plumas-Arboga Road. Plumas-Arboga Road would be realigned to meet the Plumas Lake Boulevard extension and would form the north and east legs of a new Plumas Lake Boulevard & Plumas-Arboga Road "T" intersection. The four-lane extension of Plumas Lake Boulevard would narrow to one eastbound lane and two westbound lanes approximately 400 feet east of the SR 70 NB Ramps. The extension of Plumas Lake Boulevard would then narrow to one lane in each direction with a two-lane left-turn lane approximately 650 feet east of the new Plumas Lake Boulevard & PlumasArboga Road intersection. The north leg of the new Plumas Lake Boulevard & PlumasArboga Road intersection would be stop-controlled, while the east and west legs would be uncontrolled. Construction of one (1) SR 70 SB loop on-ramp dedicated for westbound Plumas Lake Boulevard traffic. Reconfiguration of the SR 70 NB Ramps & Plumas Lake Boulevard intersection, including two eastbound and westbound through lanes, an eastbound right-turn lane and westbound left-turn lane onto the SR 70 NB loop on-ramp. The northbound approach of the SR 70 NB off-ramp would be widened in the existing median to include room for a dedicated northbound left-turn lane for when the intersection is signalized in the future. Removal of the section of Algodon Road from east of the railroad crossing to PlumasArboga Road. The new eastern terminus of Algodon Road would be approximately 1,600 feet east of River Oaks Boulevard, just east of the SR 70 undercrossing. This change essentially results in closure of the approximately 2,000-foot-long segment of the Algodon Road collector between River Oaks Boulevard and Plumas-Arboga Road to traffic. The existing three-legged intersection of Plumas-Arboga Road & Algodon Road would be reconfigured as an uncontrolled curve on Plumas-Arboga Road (please refer to Figure 2). 4 'Page OST-2025-1200 Page 02870 Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 SC_EVERSPLIT0028580 Project Description: Plumes Lake Boulevard /SR 70 Interchange Project (Phase 2) Figure 3: Existing Union Pacific Railroad Crossing at Algodon Road Figure 4: Existing Plumas Lake Boulevard Interchange (Phase 1) 5IPage OST-2025-1200 Page 02871 Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 SC_EVERSPLIT0028581