Council given update on Holland Overpass, other projects

 
Map shows how the completion of missing links will provide a continuous route for Valley Boulevard.

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Menifee City Council members were given an update Monday on Capital Improvement Projects in the city – major infrastructure projects with a cost of $50,000 or more.

Projects in the planning stages and others given high priority for the future were presented during a special workshop in which city planners answered questions from council members and took suggestions for future consideration. CIP projects are funded by a variety of sources, including county and regional transportation funds, developer fees, Measure DD funds, and funds from the City’s general fund budget.

Much has already been reported about the top priority items on the list of projects proposed for the 2021-22 fiscal year. No. 1 is the Holland Road Overpass, a much-needed route over the 215 Freeway to alleviate some of the traffic burden from the Newport Road and Scott Road interchanges. City engineer Carlos Geronimo confirmed that with the $10 million allocated for next year’s fiscal budget from the general fund and regional transportation funds, the $30 million project will be fully funded before the end of this calendar year.

The wait for those funds, installation of utility lines and the permitting process are the primary reasons construction won’t begin until April 2022. But perhaps the biggest news regarding this project was Geronimo's announcement that the City’s latest offer to purchase the final parcel of right-of-way land was accepted last week by the property owner.

With that obstacle cleared and funding by the end of the calendar year in place, there appears to be no reason construction on this critical east-west traffic artery won’t be started next spring.

No. 2 on the priority list for projects to begin next fiscal year is the bridge planned to elevate Bradley Road over Salt Creek, which floods during heavy rains. City staff has budgeted $1.5 million to help complete funding of the $14 million project, and the project was also included in a request for federal funding through Congressman Ken Calvert’s office.

According to Geronimo, 17 projects on the City’s five-year CIP plan have been completed, including the Scott Road Interchange, development of an Active Transportation Plan for the City, numerous street paving projects and several new traffic signals. Among the 12 projects currently under construction are improvements to the Paloma Wash Trail, a popular walking trail which runs between the Town Center Marketplace and Menifee Town Center.

Other projects underway include improvements at Lazy Creek Park and several street resurfacing projects.

Another of the proposed projects high on the priority list is the widening to four lanes of Valley Boulevard on the west end of the City. The $7.7 million project will also complete two “missing link” sections of the road that will allow Valley Boulevard to run continuously from Chambers Avenue south until it curves east to intersect with Murrieta Road near Salt Creek.

Proposed funding of $1.3 million in the 2021-22 budget and $6.4 million in the 2023-24 budget is expected to allow start of construction in July 23. The project will include lighting and traffic signals for the road during that part of the city.

Other proposed projects receiving high priority include:

-- A traffic signal at Menifee Road and Garbani Road. The existing intersection will be realigned and widened at a projected cost of $1.4 million.

-- A traffic signal at McCall Boulevard and Gross Pointe at an estimated cost of $600,000.

-- Resurfacing of roads in the Tradewinds Community north of Highway 74 in Romoland.

-- Resurfacing of Menifee Road from Newport Road south to Holland Road.

-- Widening of the Normandy Road shoulder at the Salt Creek Trail.

-- An above-ground fuel station for the fleet of City vehicles, including Menifee Police Department vehicles. Other cities have such stations, in which the city purchases fuel in bulk for cost savings and convenience in fueling City staff and emergency vehicles. According to Menifee PD Captain Chris Karrer, it is estimated that the City could purchase fuel in bulk at about $2 per gallon, saving the City about $150,000 annually on fuel. Estimated cost of the project is $750,000. Location of the fuel station is to be determined.

-- Replacement or purchase of four new City fleet vehicles, including an asphalt patch truck to assist in the repair of the many potholes throughout the City. Projected cost of the four vehicles is $415,000, to come from Measure DD funds.

Following the presentation, council members had the opportunity to ask questions and request additions or changes to the five-year CIP plan. Mayor Bill Zimmerman asked that a previously identified project to install a traffic signal on Antelope Road at the entrance to Mt. San Jacinto College be moved up in priority status, citing danger at that intersection and traffic accidents in the past.

Council member Matt Liesemeyer suggested consideration of a traffic signal at Garbani Road and Briggs Road, which will be a major traffic route on the way to the new Liberty High School. There also is just a stop sign at Garbani Road and Leon Road near the school site. A project to install a signal at Scott Road and Leon Road already is underway.

Liesemeyer also suggested an infrastructure study on how to generate funding for road improvements in the Romoland community north of Highway 74. Many of those roads need resurfacing and only some projects have been allocated for that purpose. The problem is that there are very few development projects planned in that area that would help fund such projects with developer fees.

In response to a question from Zimmerman about a project to install raised medians on Antelope Road south of Newport Road near the Ralphs shopping center, Geronimo said a contract is about to be awarded for the work to begin. Liesemeyer suggested a project to install raised medians on Newport Road from Bradley Road west to Murrieta Road, citing the many illegal left turns in and out of the shopping center on the northwest corner of Newport and Bradley.