Francisco Drive Right Turn Pocket Project

El Dorado Hills, a thriving community in El Dorado County, has a diverse and growing demand to improve upon its infrastructure. As the community has developed, the increased need for safer, more efficient multi-modal transportation systems has also grown. The heavily traveled El Dorado Hills Boulevard and Francisco Drive intersection is adjacent to parks, schools, and an abundance of bike and pedestrian trails through residential and commercial areas. Over the years, the intersection has been marked by failures in the pavement and in the travel performance for its many users. Through working together with the community to properly identify their needs, and partnering between County and funding agencies, El Dorado County was able to deliver a project that not only reconstructed the intersection at El Dorado Hills Boulevard and Francisco Drive, but also significantly improved its performance for many users. It became clear that the operational performance could be substantially improved by adding a right turn lane with an acceleration lane for turning vehicles from Francisco Drive onto El Dorado Hills Boulevard. By adding Class II bike lanes and a multi-use trail, connectivity between Green Valley Road and El Dorado Hills could be achieved. With the presence of an elementary school and parks, intersection and access safety for pedestrians was upgraded to include improving crosswalks, adding ADA features, and improving signage. The project design avoided significant environmental impacts, while providing efficiency in cost and schedule. The project was split into two phases. The first phase of the Project included reconstructing failed pavement sections and an overlay on Francisco Drive completed by County Maintenance staff. The asphalt overlay was extended along the gravel shoulders to construct new Class II Bike lanes. The second phase of the Project used a low bid contractor to reconstruct the intersection with a new right turn and acceleration lane, additional Class II Bike Lanes, and a multi-use Class I Bike path. The second phase also included multiple pedestrian safety features to improve connectivity, including cross walk improvements, ADA ramp, and improved signage and striping. Innovative construction solutions included traffic detours and implementing biaxial geogrids during excavation. The Project included partnering at nearly every level between communities, agencies, contractors, and engineers. The Project was funded by multiple grants (RSTP, TEA & CMAQ) that reflect these many users. Traffic delays have been significantly reduced and safety has greatly improved. Intersection peak hour traffic delays were reduced by 50%. The Project has been a testament to the process and teamwork involved between the community to properly identify its changing needs, and the agency departments to discover more efficient means to produce cost effective and sustainable solutions to meet these needs.