Vacaville Council to discuss future commuter transportation hub

Article Launched: 04/23/2005 08:30:41 AM

Council to discuss transportation hub

By Tom Hall/Staff Writer

Transportation is expected to be the focus of much action when the Vacaville City Council meets Tuesday.

On the agenda are plans to create a transportation hub in central Vacaville for commuters headed to Sacramento and the Bay Area, and also on tap is a request for the council to award a construction contract for revamping the Nut Tree Road overcrossing at Interstate 80.
The City Council will vote on a resolution asking the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for $500,000 to kick-start the environmental process for creating an intermodal station on the northwest corner of Harbison and Ulatis Drives.

The project money would come from a 2004 ballot measure approved by Bay Area voters, raising tolls on seven Bay Area bridges by $1. The extra money was earmarked for local projects that have been determined to reduce congestion or improve travel throughout the Bay Area.
Dale Pfeiffer, Vacaville's public works director, said plans call for a station across Ulatis Drive from the Ulatis Cultural Center because of its central location within Vacaville and its access to
I-80. The city is looking at nine acres there, which are owned by the city's redevelopment agency.

The $500,000 would pay for the environmental phase of the project, Pfeiffer explained. Subsequently, funding for the project in future years would pay for the acquisition of the property and the building of the hub.

The station is the only project Vacaville is planning from its share of the bridge toll funds.
Pfeiffer said the station, which could be completed in three years, would be regionally significant, in that it will provide Vacaville with express mass transit options to both the Sacramento area, as well as the Bay Area. Connections to Bay Area Rapid Transit stations in Pleasant Hill and El Cerrito are planned.

Two hundred on-site parking spots are planned, as well as space for 10 buses and extensive landscaping. A future second phase of the project adjacent to the Harbison/Ulatis station could include a 400-spot parking structure and integrated retail and office spaces.

In other action Tuesday, the council is expected to award a $15.7 million contract to Ghilotti Construction Company for construction of the new I-80-Nut Tree Road overcrossing.
The project, which includes the widening of the overcrossing, realignment of East Monte Vista Avenue and installation two new traffic signals, was projected to cost $14.6 million. Construction is scheduled to begin May 23, and is expected to be completed in the first part of 2006.

The council will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Council Chamber at 650 Merchant St.

Tom Hall can be reached at vacaville@thereporter.com.

Vacaville City Council Meeting

7 p.m. Tuesday, City Council Chamber 650 Merchant St.