Dixon sees road to better Rt. 113

Dixon sees road to better Rt. 113
By Melissa Murphy/Staff Writer
TheReporter.Com
Article Launched:02/03/2007 07:31:14 AM PST
Long-awaited improvements to Highway 113 in Dixon were finished in October, but the city is still hoping for more upgrades to the highway as well as funding for intermodal transportation and safe routes to schools.

That was the message Friday as Dixon's Governmental Affairs committee welcomed Daryl Halls, the executive director for the Solano Transportation Authority, to discuss several transportation projects in the works in Solano County.

A Highway 113 Major Investment and Corridor Study will examine the possibility of relocating the highway outside of Dixon's downtown area, options of realigning it with Interstate 80, safety improvements to address two sharp turns of the highway south of Dixon, as well as other options for the corridor's mainline

Another project under way in Dixon is getting the train to stop in the city.

Halls explained that the finished Dixon Transit Center still needs funding to start on the next phase of the project - track improvements and the building of a platform.

The STA has made a commitment of $1.3 million to the project.

"Dixon has done a very good job of moving the project forward," Halls said. "It's a very tough process. We see the potential and we know you want it."

Since the train route runs through the middle of the city, a pedestrian crosswalk at

B Street has become a danger. There have been two fatalities in the last 16 years from people walking across the unobstructed tracks, the most recent one just last summer.

Developing an undercrossing or overcrossing for pedestrians is part of the Safe Routes to Schools program. A community task force meeting for Dixon is scheduled to occur no later than the end of March to discuss the best way to address the problem.

Halls added that there is an opportunity to receive funding through state grants for the project.

Elsewhere in the county, STA is looking to do several improvements on I-80, including its interchange with I-680 and Highway 12, and a high-occupancy vehicle lane project from Red Top Road to Air Base Parkway.

In his presentation to the Governmental Affairs Committee, Halls emphasized that the billion-dollar project to improve the interchanges has been the No. 1 priority since 2000 and that project alternatives are being identified that will accommodate year 2030 traffic projections.

In addition, the carpool project is fully funded in part by an already initiated $1 increase bridge toll charge. Halls said construction to add the new HOV lane will begin sometime next year.

STA is also looking to do a complete overhaul of Highway 12.

The treacherous two-lane corridor between Suisun City and Rio Vista has been a priority for the STA for years, but pressure has mounted as collisions and fatalities have piled up, the most recent being a November head-on collision that killed two children

A group effort is underway to increase traffic enforcement such as sponsoring legislation for a double fine enforcement zone and development of a safety plan to increase awareness along the corridor.

Halls said that several law enforcement agencies have allocated 2,000 staff hours to enforce laws on Highway 12.

"Safety has been a big discussion," Halls said. "We're getting tired of the fatalities."

Melissa Murphy can be reached at dixon@thereporter.com.