After four years, Caltrans approves Ranchero Road Underpass Underpass expected to open in late 2010, early 2011 By BEAU YARBROUGH March 5, 2008 - 7:00PM Staff Writer Hesperia's long-awaited new east-west corridor is a major step closer to becoming a reality. The California Department of Transportation has signed off on the environmental impact review for the Ranchero Road Underpass project, city officials announced at Tuesday night's city council meeting. "The city's been working on the environmental process for going on four years," Scott Priester, the city's Director of Development Services, said Wednesday. On February 28, "we received official notice from Caltrans that the Caltrans internal certification process was completed." The proposed tunnel under the BNSF Railroad tracks at Ranchero Road would alleviate the often-heavy traffic on Main Street and provide a second east-west crossing for the city. Presently, if the Main Street Overpass get shut down by a major traffic accident, emergency response vehicles would have to drive miles out of their way to cross the railroad tracks. As a result, the underpass project has been a major priority since before Hesperia became a city in 1988. "Ranchero Road was supposed to do it way back when this was the county, and they never did it," Priester said. But to get the tunnel dug, it has to go through a stringent environmental impact review first. "We have to meet all the environmental rules of both the state of California and the federal government," Priester said. "It's a two-step process in order to comply with those." Both state and federal officials "have to review all the technical studies in the document and say 'yes, it's adequate.' Only after that's done can it move onto the next step of the process." The federal environmental review, NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act), began the day after Caltrans signed off on the project. "Once it's OKed, then it can be put out for the public scrutiny," Priester said. "People laughed at the city, when they said 'Caltrans this' and 'Caltrans that,'" City staffers hope the next step will take considerably less than four years. "We're hoping that the NEPA process is concluded by either the end of this month or the first of next month," Priester said. "Then we will publish the document and have a hearing for people to comment on the document." Once the NEPA review is complete, the project will get an official ruling, and the city can begin purchasing the right of way necessary to build the underpass. "The expectation right now is early 2009, we'll out there breaking ground," Priester said. Construction is expected to take 12 to 16 months, and the underpass opening to the public in 2010 or 2011. Beau Yarbrough can be reached at 956-7108 or at beau@hesperiastar.com.     August 3, 2007 - 4:18PM Hesperia told to reform at Ranchero study     Caltrans move to streamline projects threatens Ranchero Road underpass HILLARY BORRUD HESPERIA — A national pilot project that gave Caltrans and a few other state transportation agencies the power to approve federal environmental assessments was intended to speed up infrastructure projects. Yet the process that would supposedly streamline approval threatened to slow down Hesperia’s Ranchero Road underpass and other projects statewide, said City Manager Mike Podegracz. Hesperia’s environmental assessment on Ranchero Road underpass is the furthest along out of all the projects, he said. When the city received comments about two weeks ago on the latest version of the document submitted to Caltrans, roughly half of the 91 comments dealt with reformatting the document, Podegracz said at Wednesday night’s City Council meeting. Prior Caltrans instructions that the city followed had changed now that Caltrans was responsible for both the state and federal environmental studies. “We have been working on this environmental assessment since May, 2003,” said Dave Reno, Hesperia’s principal planner. Podegracz said he immediately called Caltrans after receiving the latest format changes to plead with them that they were ridiculous, and was told that the city would be allowed to submit the document in its current form this time. Reno and Scott Priester, director of development services, met with Caltrans staff Thursday to clarify the comments. Reno said that the meeting was successful, but Podegracz was ready to fight for the project that the city has pursued for so long. If the meeting had not gone well for the city, Podegracz said on Wednesday night that he would be on the telephone with every elected official from the local Assemblyman to the governor’s office. Podegracz said he doubts that the new pilot program would help move projects forward more quickly. “After working with Caltrans for three years, I don’t know if that’s possible,” he said. Reno said that despite the latest challenge, the city could still break ground on Ranchero Road underpass in 2008, but he could not specify a month.   The story below is one of a long line of Ranchero underpass hopes that were not delivered.The latest starting point is late in 2008 now, thanks to government red tape, mostly from Cal Trans. Crosstown road plan under way

Underpass to begin new thoroughfare in Hesperia

Chuck Mueller, Staff Writer San Bernardino County Sun

Article Launched:01/29/2007 12:00:00 AM PST

HESPERIA - A long-envisioned east-west thoroughfare, now under environmental review, would open a vital link between Interstate 15 and the south side of the city. Costing about $78 million, it is Hesperia's top public-works project. "The city and its citizens have been waiting a long time for these improvements along Ranchero Road," said Scott Priester, Hesperia's director of development services. "It finally will be realized." The project, which will be constructed in three phases, includes a $21 million underpass beneath the BNSF Railway tracks that split the city in half. A second phase, costing $30 million, calls for building an interchange at I-15 and Ranchero Road. The $27 million third phase, in which Ranchero will be widened over a six-mile segment from two to four lanes, will connect the underpass and interchange. "Constructing the underpass is my top priority," said Mayor Rita Vogler. "At last, it is moving ahead." When completed in two years, the underpass will relieve congestion on Main Street and reduce travel time for residents of the city's southeast area who commute to jobs in the San Bernardino Valley. Vogler said the underpass would help open Hesperia's southeast sector to new development. As many as 16,000 new homes are planned at the Rancho Las Flores project in Summit Valley, south of Hesperia. The 10,000-acre development was approved by the city in 1990, and the area was annexed in 1992, said Dave Reno, Hesperia's principal planner. "It's an exciting time for Hesperia," Vogler said. "We're growing fast, and a lot will be happening." Tom Harp, Hesperia's deputy director of development services, said the underpass will divert east-west traffic off Main Street and eventually will open a new route for Apple Valley residents to reach I-15. It also will provide a new route for firefighters, ambulances and police who now use Main Street to reach the southern perimeter of Hesperia. The project will be financed with city, state and federal funds, Priester said. "We now are working with Caltrans to complete environmental studies for the underpass," he said. "Caltrans must approve the environmental report before it is sent to the Federal Highway Administration for review. With approval by that authority, the city can move ahead with design work and acquisition of right-of- way." The four-lane underpass will be about 200 feet long, with approach lanes extending along Ranchero from Seventh Avenue to Danbury Avenue. This fall, Priester said, the city will call for bids for construction of the underpass, with work beginning by year's end. It will take about two years to complete the underpass project. "Meanwhile, we hope construction on the six-lane freeway interchange can start in 2010, and can be completed in 18 months," he said. Then would come the widening of Ranchero between I-15 and the railway underpass.