SITE INFORMATION AND CORRESPONDENCE

Home Browse Search

CATEGORICAL EXEMPTION/EXCLUSION SUMMARY Project Description. The City of Stockton, in cooperation with San Joaquin Council of Governments ( SJCOG- -Measure K)and the California Department of Transportation(Caltrans),proposes to improve the existing interchange at Interstate 5 and Benjamin Holt Drive in the northwestern portion of the City of Stockton, San Joaquin County.The project will be funded by the City of Stockton with Measure"K" sales tax,developer impact fees,and Caltrans SHOPP program funds. Purpose and Need. The Benjamin Holt interchange serves a large, primarily residential, area in the north area of the City of Stockton. Since the completion of Interstate 5 through northwest Stockton in 1970, residential and commercial development has begun to encompass the corridor,resulting in substantial weekday commuter usage. Added to the substantial commuter usage,this segment of I-5 carries a diverse mixture of truck,commercial, agricultural,and recreational traffic.Operational problems exist at the I-5 ramp termini that causes a backup of vehicles on the northbound off-ramp in the afternoon and a difficult entry to the southbound on-ramp in the morning.Also,conflicts are created by access openings to businesses along Benjamin Holt Drive near the ramp termini.The need for a two-lane northbound off-ramp is supported by the predicted traffic volume;traffic will back up on northbound I-5 at peak commute periods without it. Project Alternatives. The existing Benjamin Holt Drive interchange with I-5 is a "tight diamond" with signalization at the ramp termini, and alternative solutions to the problems are limited.The no-build alternative will not solve the problem,and will not operate at a much higher traffic load. The build alternative proposes to upgrade the existing ramps by adding lanes and upgrading Benjamin Holt Drive.The project features include: o Northbound Off-ramp. Add a lane,with an auxiliary lane preceding the ramp nose,and an additional right turn lane at the ramp terminal. o Northbound On-ramp. Provide for ramp metering. o Southbound Off-ramp. Modify the ramp terminal to improve the right turn movement. o Southbound On-ramp. Provide for ramp-metering. o Benjamin Holt Drive, between Grigsby and Plymouth. Will be upgraded to include additional left-turn storage lanes,signalization, and channelization to relieve congestion at the interchange ramps. Environmental Consequences and Mitigation. Completion of this project has the potential to impact air quality,biological and cultural resources,existing noise levels,existing hazardous wastes,socioeconomic resources, visual resources,and the existing water quality.As the result,technical environmental studies have been conducted for each of those environmental elements.The conclusions reached for each element are: o Air Quality. The proposed project will not have a significant impact on local or regional air quality. o Biological Resources. The project area is primarily urban, and the proposal will not have a significant impact on any known flora or fauna species of concern. o Cultural Resources.The records search and field investigation of the project's Area of Potential Effects (APE)did not reveal any significant cultural resources. o Noise Impacts. The existing noise levels found in this segment of I-5 exceed the federal noise standards. However,the proposal will result in no significant increase in the existing noise levels,and mitigation will not be required.