Rock Creek Road Rehabilitation Project

The Rock Creek Road Rehabilitation Project consisted of the rehabilitation, restoration and resurfacing of approximately 9.2 miles of Rock Creek Road, from its junction with US 395 south to the end of the road near Rock Creek Pack Station. The project widened the existing roadway to include two 11-foot travel lanes, a 4-foot wide striped bike lane along the southbound (uphill) travel lane, and 1-foot paved shoulders for a total paved width of 28 feet.  Existing culverts (including 5 large arch-culverts) were extended to accommodate the wider roadway. The project was funded through the Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) with a Toll Credit match. Construction occurred over two construction seasons and was completed in fall of 2015 for a cost of $9,500,000. Access to recreational uses along the length of the road remained open during construction. Rock Creek Road provides access to Rock Creek Lake, 12 Inyo National Forest campgrounds, two privately owned and operated lodges, a privately owned pack station, recreational areas, and three trailheads. 8 miles are in Mono County and 1.2 miles are in Inyo County. The pavement condition was failed and had widths varying from 22 to 24 feet and variable-width unpaved shoulders. Rock Creek Road is a popular ride for serious cyclists because of its steep grade, length, and high altitude (the top is 9,920′ above sea level) and had been a popular stage in a road race called the Everest Challenge. The road condition had declined to the point that cyclists were choosing not to ride it because of safety concerns. In the early project planning process, cyclist groups were consulted and communicated a strong desire to have bike lanes installed. The preliminary engineering analysis showed that large quantities of grading and retaining walls would be required to widen the road bench enough to fit two bike lanes. This additional disturbance would have resulted in significant costs and caused major concerns due to the sensitive environment along the road corridor. Further discussion with the cycling community revealed that their primary safety concern was not having enough room when they are slowly climbing the steep grade and vehicles (especially large vehicles like RV’s, horse trailers, etc.) pass them at a much faster speed. While descending, cyclists often travel at fast speeds that sometimes even reach the speeds of vehicles. Because they are traveling at nearly the same speed as traffic, cyclists commonly descend in the traffic lane. In response to this feedback, another project alternative was prepared that showed that the existing road bench could accommodate one bike lane for most of the route without prohibitive quantities of grading or retaining wall construction. This alternative was ultimately constructed and the feedback has been extremely positive. In fact, the Eastside Velo bicycle club recently awarded Mono County a Public Service Award for Bicycle Safety and Ride Experience for the project.