Project Details

A location and vicinity map of the Bridgeport Rehab project limits near the communuity of Bridgeport in Mono County, CA.

Project Purpose and Need Statement:

Purpose

The purpose of the project is to:

Rehabilitate and extend the service life of the pavement to a condition that will require minimal maintenance.
Improve pavement ride quality.
Upgrade highway features to meet current standards.
Improve drainage systems.
Increase and improve access and connectivity for multiple modes of transportation.

Need

Pavement Restoration

The condition of the pavement on U.S. Route 395 within the project limits has deteriorated leading to poor ride quality. The presence of alligator cracking with associated rutting indicates that the roadway base is failing in several locations in both the northbound and southbound lanes.

Upgrade Existing Highway Appurtenances

Southbound paved shoulder directly south of East Walker River Bridge do not meet the current 8-foot standard width. The reduced shoulder widths create problems for disabled vehicles being able to pull over and clear the travel lane.
The Metal Beam Guardrail (approach railing, transition railing and bridge rails) at five bridges within the project limits need to be upgraded and extended to meet current safety standards and prolong the life of the bridges.
Road embankment side slope at the south side of South Branch Robinson Creek Bridge is at an approximately 45-degree angle, steeper than the current standard of 4 to 1 (14-degree angle) making it difficult for errant vehicles to recover and return back onto the roadway should the vehicle travel over the edge of pavement and down the embankment.

Drainage Improvements

Approximately five culverts within the project limits have exceeded their service life and need to be replaced. Additionally, two culverts are no longer functioning properly, and need to be removed. Lastly, the installation of rock-slope protection is needed at the inflow entrance of the Rickey Ditch bridge to prevent further erosion of the ditch’s bank slopes adjacent to the bridge and U.S. Route 395.

Improve Access and Connectivity for Multiple Modes of Transportation

Per the Caltrans Complete Streets Program, a complete street is a transportation facility that is planned, designed, operated, and maintained to provide safe mobility for all users, including bicyclists, pedestrians, transit vehicles, truckers, and motorists appropriate to the function and context of the facility. The goal of Caltrans’ Complete Street Policy is to create a space where people of all ages and abilities can maximize the right-of-way with a variety of mobility forms and meet the goals of safety, comfort and connectivity

The community of Bridgeport, through meetings with the public and the Mono County Regional Planning Advisory Commission, has expressed a need for improving pedestrian and bicyclist mobility and connectivity. The community also expressed a desire to include features that would reduce the speeds of vehicles traveling along Main Street.

Within the community multiple curb ramps, sidewalks and driveways are not in compliance with current Americans with Disabilities Act standards and need to be upgraded. An Americans with Disabilities compliant path is not continuous along Main Street. Several gaps exist in sidewalk along Main Street and do not provide for a continuous Americans with Disabilities Act compliant continuous path for multiple modes of transportation.

State Route 395 through the community of Bridgeport is a Main Street Highway extending through the center of town. During early public meetings residents of Bridgeport indicated that they felt generally uncomfortable crossing the 2-lane highway and expressed a strong desire for traffic calming features such as bulb outs, temporary pedestrian refuges and pedestrian lighting to help slow vehicle traffic, increase driver awareness of pedestrians and bicyclists and assist with narrowing the traveled way to bring the roadway to a more pedestrian scale making a shorter and more direct connection across the roadway.

Project Description:

The main asset being addressed by the project is the deteriorating pavement on U.S. Route 395. The project limits run from post mile 76.0 (approximately one-quarter mile south of the junction of U.S. Route 395 and State Route 182 and the community of Bridgeport) to post mile 80.6 (just north of the intersection of Buckeye Road and U.S. Route 395, north of the community of Bridgeport). See Figure 1-1 for the project location and vicinity map.

For the project limits that fall outside of the community of Bridgeport (post mile 76.0 to post mile 76.2, and post mile 76.8 to post mile 80.6), the existing pavement will be cold planed (removal of existing pavement surface with machine grinding equipment) to a depth of 0.2 foot and replaced with approximately 0.4 foot of hot mix asphalt within the existing travel lanes. Beyond the travel lanes, the existing paved shoulders will be overlaid with 0.2 feet of hot mix asphalt mix.

Within the community of Bridgeport (post mile 76.3 to post mile 76.7), the existing travel lanes on U.S. Route 395 will be pulverized and removed to a depth of 1.4 feet. Either 0.75 foot of recycled pulverized material, or 0.75 foot of new Class 2 aggregate base, will then be installed, followed by the placement of 0.65 foot of new hot mix asphalt (Type A). For the center median and turn pockets in the community, approximately 0.20 foot of the existing pavement will be cold planed (removed) and approximately 0.20 foot of new hot mix asphalt will be placed. No work is planned for the existing paved shoulders within this stretch of the project.

In three locations on U.S. Route 395 within the project limits, existing shoulders are too narrow and will be widened to ensure that up to 3 feet of shoulder backing can be placed beyond the edge of pavement. Shoulder backing is a thin course of granular material that is used to provide support to the pavement edge by preventing edge cracking and pavement edge loss. Shoulder backing also minimizes pavement edge drop-off heights for overlays and provides additional recovery room for errant vehicles running off the pavement. The paved southbound shoulder, from post miles 76.2 to 76.3, will be widened to an 8-foot width. In addition, from post miles 78.94 to 79.02 and 79.30 to 79.35, the side slope embankment of the southbound shoulder will be widened out to a slope angle of 4 to 1 or flatter. This will allow for the placement of 3 feet of shoulder backing off of the existing paved shoulder.

Within the community of Bridgeport, multiple complete streets facilities will be constructed or upgraded on U.S. Route 395. Multiple curb ramps will be upgraded or installed to meet current Americans with Disabilities Act standards. The southeast and northeast curb ramps at the intersection of U.S. Route 395 and School Street will be upgraded to bulb-out pedestrian refuges and include intersection lighting, pedestrian-activated crosswalk signals, and cross drains. The curb ramp at the northeast corner of the intersection of U.S. Route 395 and Twin Lakes Road will also be upgraded to include these facilities (bulb-out refuge, intersection lighting, crosswalk signal, and a cross drain). The southeast corner of this intersection will see the construction of a Type C pedestrian passageway (an above-grade concrete island/refuge) and include three curb ramps, pedestrian-activated crosswalk signals, intersection lighting, and a cross drain. The northwest and northeast curb ramps at the intersection of U.S 395 and Sinclair Street will also be upgraded. Lastly, temporary pedestrian refuges will be installed at the existing crosswalk at post mile 76.53 (adjacent to the Jolly Kone restaurant). These refuges, which will be made of plastic or rubber, are designed to be removed when deemed necessary. In addition to curb ramps, three new segments of sidewalk will be constructed: from post miles 76.37 to 76.47 (along the northbound side of U.S. Route 395, from the eastern edge of the Walker River Lodge to the western edge of a private residence directly west of the lodge); from post miles 76.49 to 76.51 (along the northbound side of U.S. Route 395, from the front of the parking lot of the Burger Barn restaurant to the eastern edge of the Jolly Kone restaurant); and from post miles 76.69 to 76.75 (along the northbound side of U.S. Route 395, at the intersection of the highway and Twin Lakes Road).

The project will also remove and replace five existing drainage culverts on U.S. Route 395. Culverts at post miles 76.76, 76.05, and 80.03 will be replaced in-kind. In addition, the existing culvert and connecting drop inlets at post mile 76.38 will be replaced in-kind. Lastly, two culverts (post miles 76.86 and 80.34) will be removed completely.

Other drainage facility upgrades include the installation of new rock slope protection along the eastern bank of Rickey Ditch right before flowing under the Rickey Ditch bridge (post mile 76.9) to address bank erosion. Rock slope protection will fortify the ditch bank where the ditch curves at a nearly 90-degree angle before flowing under the bridge at U.S. Route 395. It is not yet known if a temporary water diversion system will be required at this location to prevent work in flowing water at the site of rock slope protection installation.

Five bridges will have existing bridge railings, transition railing, and approach railing upgraded to meet current safety standards: Bridge No. 47-47 (post mile 76.9), Bridge No. 47-32 (post mile 79.05), Bridge No. 47-33 (post mile 79.13), Bridge No. 47-36 (post mile 79.33), and Bridge No. 47-34 (post mile 79.48). In addition, the approach railing at all bridge locations may be extended by up to 160 feet beyond the edge of the existing approach railing. To reconstruct existing bridge rails, falsework may be required.

Temporary construction easements are anticipated for the construction of curb ramps in Bridgeport, some culvert replacements, the installation of rock slope protection at Rickey Ditch bridge crossing and proposed staging areas.

Build Alternative:

The build alternative will rehabilitate the failing pavement and make improvements for complete streets facilities and upgrades on a segment of U.S. Route 395. Additional Caltrans facilities, including lights, signals, roadside signs, culverts, bridges, curb ramps, and sidewalks, will need to be replaced or upgraded to accommodate the restoration of the highway.

No-Build (No Action) Alternative:

The no-build alternative would maintain the existing facilities within the project limits on U.S. Route 395 as is. Selection of the no-build alternative would result in no project-related construction activities taking place. The no-build alternative would not meet the project purpose and need because it would not address pavement, drainage or complete streets or upgrade non-standard highway features on the proposed segment of U.S. Route 395 within the project limits.