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4.Environmental Analysis of SR 132 between SR 33 and the San Joaquin River has been funded for environmental studies J and selection of alternatives. Existing mining operations near the project site,as part of their conditions of project approval, fund the construction of a four-lane expressway section in the Bird Road/SR 132 intersection vicinity, from the end of the existing four-lane section west of the SR 132/1-5 interchange to a point approximately 1,000 feet west of Bird Road. This widening will include left-turn and right-tum lanes, and acceleration and deceleration lanes on SR 132 at Bird Road, and will be part of the future construction of a freeway interchange currently planned by Caltrans for construction commencing in 2007. Another condition of approval for the mining projects is that Blewett and Bird Roads shall be — reconstructed as 50-foot-wide right-of-way rural roads, specifically Blewett Road from Bird Road to the north main entrance for the project, and Bird Road from Blewett Road to SR 132. A Traffic Ili of 13 shall be used for road design purposes (San Joaquin County, 1992b). — Agency Consultation On October 22, 2003, a meeting was held at San Joaquin County offices to discuss the scope of the traffic analysis. The attendance for this meeting list is included in Appendix A.The meeting resulted in several issues including additional intersection analysis east of Koster Road on SR 132, status of infrastructure improvements initiated by previous mining projects within the vicinity and accident data requests have not been responded to by various agencies.A methodology paper was issued in January 2003. San Joaquin County was the only agency that — provided comments on this paper. 4.4.3 Impacts and Mitigation Measures Significance Criteria According to CEQA Guidelines, a project would normally have a significant effect on the environment if it would"cause an increase in traffic which is substantial in relation to the existing traffic load and capacity of the street system." For the purpose of this FIR, reference is made to the San Joaquin County Guidelines for the Preparation of Traffic Impact Studies, which states that"all County roadways shall operate at LOS C or better and intersections shall operate at an overall LOS D or better on minor arterials and roadways of higher classification;and LOS C on all other roads. All freeways and state highways shall operate at LOS D." In addition, for the purpose of this EIR, the project would be considered to cause a significant — impact if project-generated traffic would cause an increase in traffic safety hazards on area roadways, or deterioration of the physical condition of area roadways and bridges. A small impact — 3 Traffic Index is a logarithmically based scale that indicates the ability of the pavement structure to support repetitive wheel and axle loads of large trucks,given a sound structural roadway sub-base.The effects on pavement life of passenger cars,pickups,and two-axle/four-wheel trucks are considered to be negligible. RMC Pacific Vernalis Quarry Mining and Recamation Project ESA/203015 Draft Environmental Impact Report May 2006