TO: Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Steve Powers, City Manager
FROM: Peter Fernandez, PE, Public Works Director
SUBJECT:
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Information on the Salem River Crossing Project for Council Work Session on January 30, 2019.
Ward(s): All Wards
Councilor(s): All Councilors
Neighborhood(s): All Neighborhoods
Result Area(s): Welcoming and Livable Community; Strong and Diverse Economy; Safe, Reliable, and Efficient Infrastructure; Natural Environmental Stewardship; and Good Governance.
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ISSUE:
Provide Council with information regarding the Salem River Crossing Project.
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Information Only.
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SUMMARY:
On November 26, 2018, Council called for a work session regarding the Salem River Crossing Project with the following motion:
That City Council hold a work session to discuss all potential issues concerning the Environmental Impact Statement for the third bridge, including but not limited to its effect on neighborhoods, Wallace Marine Park, Edgewater Drive, the Rosemont exit, projected congested areas and travel times under build and No Build options, and financing options.
Staff from Salem Public Works and the Salem-Keizer Area Transportation Study have prepared the attached report to facilitate Council discussions at the work session.
FACTS AND FINDINGS:
The report is organized using a Question/Answer format. To the extent possible, references are cited to provide readers the opportunity to review source documents and to become more familiar with the subject.
1. The report provides answers to more than 115 questions, organized under 22 topic areas.
2. Over 70 different references, including reports, memoranda, studies, books, papers, meeting summaries, and websites, have been used to support the answers provided in the report.
BACKGROUND:
The immediate issue before Council is the incomplete Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Salem River Crossing Project. The next step toward completing the FEIS requires Council action to address a remand issued in 2017 by the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals, and for the City to concur with the preliminary finding by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) concerning the impacts of the Salem River Crossing Project on Wallace Marine Park.
Depending on how Council chooses to proceed and the subsequent actions of the Oregon Department of Transportation and FHWA, it is anticipated that FHWA will either issue a Record of Decision (ROD) that will support construction in the future of a new bridge and related approaches and roadways-currently the “Preferred Alternative”-or issue an ROD stating nothing is to be constructed, the latter being called the “No Build Alternative.”
The FHWA Administrator has advised ODOT and the City that a definitive statement from Council indicating whether or not it intends to proceed toward completing the FEIS must be received by FHWA by mid-February 2019.
Robert D. Chandler, PhD, PE
Assistant Public Works Director
Attachments:
1. Report - Salem River Crossing Project: Questions and Answers
2. Appendix A of Report - Salem River Crossing Project: Description of Preferred Alternative (January 2019)
3. Appendix B of Report - Letter to Salem City Council from Salem-Keizer Area Transportation Study (November 13, 2018)
4. Appendix C of Report - Federal Highway Administration Order 5020.1A. Repayment of Preliminary Engineering Costs (June 8, 2018)
5. Appendix D of Report - Salem 3rd Willamette Bridge, Cost Estimating Services. Final Report from T.Y. Lin, International (October 2016)
6. Appendix E of Report - Salem River Crossing - Revenue Projections. Report by ECONorthwest to Salem River Crossing Project Management Team (November 12, 2014)
7. Appendix F of Report - A Mission Street Retrospective (February 19, 2013)
8. Appendix G of Report - Salem River Crossing Project Final Section 4(f) Evaluation: Draft Findings for Park/Recreation Resources (October 5, 2016)