Santa Maria city staff are predicting that the extension phase of the Union Valley Parkway project could begin as soon as next year, if a recently released environmental report is approved.

Because approximately $3 million in federal funding must be used no later than the 2008-09 fiscal year, officials said the portion of Highway 135 to Foxenwood Lane would most likely be the first to undergo construction.

Wednesday evening, nearly 100 people attended a public meeting at the Radisson Hotel near the Santa Maria Public Airport to hear discussion on the issue.

Although the half-hour presentation on the recent environmental impact report provided little additional information to attendees, most present said it was helpful to have the ear of the engineers, consultants and staff members who work on the project.

The estimated $36 million project includes extending the east-west street south of Foster Road west across Highway 135 to connect with Blosser Road south of the Santa Maria Public Airport and a new Highway 101 interchange.

The project would be funded in part by state gas tax funds and Measure A, a countywide, half-cent sales tax for transportation.

The most recent step of the nearly four decades old project was the release of a draft environmental report, which focused on identifying, predicting and mitigating environmental impacts that could arise due to the proposed project.

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The Union Valley Parkway project has been a joint effort of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the city of Santa Maria and Santa Barbara County. Also in attendance were representatives from Rincon Consultants, the company that submitted the draft environmental impact report for review.

Throughout the life of the project, residents' worries have ranged from increased noise and traffic levels outside their backyards to fear of future growth west of Blosser Road.

Those who still have questions or comments on the proposed project and environmental report have until Sept. 11 to submit written comments and have them formally answered in the final environmental impact report, which will be presented within the next year.

The date leaves very little time for concerned homeowners to get used to the idea.

Two years ago, Jon Bradley moved to a home west of Blosser Road and near where the Union Valley Parkway extension would intersect.

He said he was not worried about the project because, “everyone said it wouldn't happen for awhile.”

Now, however, Bradley must consider how the project will affect him and his family.

But officials said the extension and highway interchange project will enable motorists to enter and exit the freeway and Union Valley Parkway, and will relieve traffic congestion on Clark Avenue, Santa Maria Way, Lakeview Road and other nearby roadways.

Since 1963, planning documents have envisioned Union Valley Parkway, a two-lane road that extends from Hummel Drive on the west to Boardwalk Lane on the east, being extended across Orcutt to connect Highway 101 and Highway 1.

The current proposal, however, stops about two miles short of Highway 1, extending only to South Blosser on its west end, but remaining a two lane road for the time being, project consultants said.

The project's draft environmental impact report (DEIR) prepared by the San Luis Obispo-based consulting company points out that the extension would cause a permanent increase in noise levels for local neighbors and would harm several animal and plant species.

If the project is completed as planned, for example, long-term traffic noise levels at homes along Clubhouse Drive and the existing segment of Union Valley Parkway would exceed the Federal Highway Administration's noise abatement criteria, the consultants reported.

The noise level can be mitigated by constructing 8-foot sound walls between residents' backyards and the extension, according to Rincon consultant Richard Patrick Nichols.

Although some of the homes would not benefit from the sound wall, the noise level increase would still be within the federal noise threshold, Nichols said.

One of the biggest issues of late for the project has been the California tiger salamander, which became a federally protected species in 2000.

Sam Womack can be reached at 739-2218 or swomack@santamariatimes.com.

August 13, 2008