Why has it taken so long to study the potential traffic reduction alternatives?
In order to qualify for federal, state, regional, and local funding the Project Report and Environment Documents (PR/ED) needed to be prepared in compliance with both the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This process requires significant analysis of each alternative, including the existing environment that could be affected by the project and the potential impacts from each of the alternatives. This requires extensive engineering, geotechnical, fiscal, traffic, and environmental analysis. The formal Study began in FY 2004 and was originally scheduled to be completed in FY 2009. Based on input from the Navy and Caltrans, three additional alternatives were added (Alternative 5B, Alternative 4B, Option 2, and Alternative 4B, Option 3), extending the schedule. The draft PR/ED is now scheduled to be completed in July 2010 with the final Environmental Document presented to the City Council in September 2011.
