Title
Department of Transportation recommending the Board:
1) Adopt and authorize the Chair to sign Resolution 041-2024, finding an emergency exists on Patterson Drive in Diamond Springs due to a sinkhole resulting from a failed culvert;
2) Authorize the Director of Transportation, acting as the Road Commissioner, to take all necessary actions to approve, authorize, and award emergency repair projects (4/5 vote required);
3) Find that the adoption of this Resolution and the repair project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act under Public Resources Code Section 21080 and CEQA Guidelines Sections 15269 and 15301; and
4) Direct staff to return to the Board as soon as the emergency repairs are completed with an update on completed repairs and final costs.
FUNDING: Road Fund.
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
On February 22, 2024, the Department of Transportation (Transportation) confirmed the presence of a sinkhole at 4291 Patterson Drive in Diamond Springs. Based on observations that could be safely made at the time, the sinkhole appeared to have been caused by a failed 32” diameter corrugated steel pipe culvert under Patterson Drive and is in need of immediate repair. Patterson Drive carries over 4,700 vehicles daily and is the only viable/two-lane route in and out of an area with several hundred homes. The only other route in and out of the area is Tulles Mine Road, a one lane road, that was not designed for two-way traffic, therefore impeding any efficient evacuation or circulation for the community. There is a significant risk that the sinkhole will cause Patterson Drive to collapse during the time it would take for staff to follow the standard Board approval process for design, plans, specifications, permission to advertise and award of a public project, and would pose an imminent threat to public safety. It is critical that the County make these emergency repairs immediately in order to prevent or mitigate the loss or impairment of life, he...
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