On Tuesday, the Oakley City Council accepted its report on the Capital Improvement Program, however, with the item only in consent, Councilmember Anissa Williams pulled the item for discussion.
“I pulled it because I just want us as often as possible to highlight the different projects we are working on,” said Williams but called the E Cypress widening an important thing to touch on with the timelines.
East Cypress Road Widening (Knightsen Avenue to Jersey Island Road) Project
Project # 247
Schedule: Construction is underway
Budget: $8,900,000
Funding Source: Traffic Impact Fee Fund
The growth and development of new subdivision projects along the East Cypress Road corridor has necessitated various infrastructure improvements to accommodate the increased traffic demands on this road. This project will reconstruct East Cypress Road from Knightsen Avenue to Jersey Island Road. The improvements will include a 6-lane roadway, curb, gutter, sidewalks, streetlights, traffic signal, and underground utility infrastructure. The widening will stop just short of the Contra Costa Canal where the developer to the east of the canal is responsible to continue the widening and improvement of East Cypress Road to Bethel Island Road. The design of this project is complete, and the project is in the bidding phase. The construction is anticipated to start in early 2023.
The summary was provided by Kevin Rohani, Public Works Director/City Engineer said the design was completed last year while awarding the project. Said they plan to start the project this year but has a number of phases to complete before the actual roadway construction could begin—utility relocation, PG&E gas lines to be relocated,
“With the rains coming, it changed everybody’s schedule,” said Rohani. “We need to get PG&E back to get relocations to be done then construction of the project can begin.”
He said the project would take about 4-6 months for that section of E Cypress from what you see today. He called this a “feature project” after the stormy weather.
From Jersey Island Road to Bethel Island Road, that section is going to be constructed as part of a development project on both the north and southside… they will pickup where we leave off.
“We anticipate the construction of that to start in the later part of this year,” said Rohani. “That would complete overall construction on E Cypress Road to Bethel Island to Main Street.”’
Rohani said his plan with the rain stopping next week, there are some repairs to the roadway they need to make from Knightsen Avenue to Jersey Island just to make it safe and in good it in good condition for the rest of the year.
Williams also asked about Project 9 & Project 10 which was the Laurel Road Extension after residents have raised concerns over favortism on Laurel vs. E Cypress Road.
Rohani explained no favorites were being played over one road or another, its just than Laurel Rd. on an average day has 20,000 vehicles on it—whereas E Cypress is much less. E Cypress Road has gone through number of improvement, such as when Emerson Ranch and Delaney Park was built.
“Part of the problem on E Cypress is we had to rely on the developer because we did not have the right of way,” explained Rohani. “Physically, we did not have the right away we had to wait and work on utility relocations. The condition of the road is not lost on our radar. We are going to do temporary repairs before full roadway with all bells and whistles.”
Rohani said Laurel Road from Main Street to Rose was old two-lane with many issues, we have done section by section upgrades—including overhead lights took 3-years. The last section of road on Laurel Road is section from Cloverbrook to O’Hara—they had been working to acquire the right-of-way.
Laurel Road Extension Project (Teton Road to Sellers Avenue)
Project # 273
Schedule: Design is underway
Budget: $300,000
Funding Source: Traffic Impact Fee Fund
This Project will extend Laurel Road from Teton Road to Sellers Avenue providing an alternate and much needed secondary route for the residents of far east Oakley along East Cypress Road. Currently, the only major access in and out of far east Oakley is via East Cypress Road. This current route along East Cypress Road passes by an elementary and middle school and crosses the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad tracks. Traffic volumes have increased over the years and continue to grow with the new housing developments in far east Oakley. Extending Laurel Road from Teton Road to Sellers Avenue will provide a much-needed direct access to Highway 4 and job centers in the Bay Area and reduce traffic congestion from East Cypress Road. This project will construct a new bridge across the BNSF railroad tracks and construct a new 4-lane roadway with curb, gutter, sidewalks, medians, and streetlights. In addition, a new traffic signal will be constructed at the intersection of Laurel Road and Sellers Avenue. The preliminary design of this project is underway which will determine the Right of Way needs of the project. Staff will be working on the Right of Way acquisition process and securing funding for
this project which is estimated to be nearly $40M
Laurel Road Widening Project (O’Hara Avenue to Cloverbrook Avenue
Project # 280
Schedule: Design is underway
Budget: $2,500,000
Funding Source: Traffic Impact Fee Fund
Laurel Road from O’Hara Avenue to Cloverbrook Avenue is the last section of Laurel Road that needs to be widened and improved. Laurel Road is a major Arterial Road and the City’s designated truck route with a direct connection to Highway 4. This section of Laurel Road has not been widened or improved due to the lack of Right of Way and is starting to deteriorate due to the large volume of vehicles that use Laurel Road every day. Staff is working with the property owners at the intersection of Laurel Road and O’Hara Avenue to obtain the necessary right of way for the roadway widening. The design of this project will begin promptly and will require major utility relocation of the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) utility poles as a part of this project. This entire project will span over 3 to 4 years to complete, due to the complex nature of its various components
For more information on the 13 projects, click here.
