Bids for the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Dana to Downtown project in Redding were opened in late February with Golden State Bridge from Martinez submitting a low bid less than one percent higher than Caltrans’s engineer’s estimate.

A total of four bids were received by the department for construction of the $64 million freeway widening project. Contract award to the apparent low bidder will not take place for several weeks as the low bid must be reviewed to assure that it complies with all state regulations.

The Dana to Downtown Project emerged from a 1997 study performed by Caltrans and sponsored by the Shasta County Regional Transportation Planning Agency (RTPA) and has consistently been rated by the RTPA as the highest priority transportation project in the Redding area and Shasta County. However, due to dwindling transportation revenues, it has taken more than 10 years to accumulate enough funding to complete the project. A big boost was provided by the voters in November 2006 with passage of Proposition 1B, which finally put the project within fiscal reach. Fifty-four percent of the project is funded from State transportation revenues approved by the RTPA while the remaining 46 percent comes from State transportation revenues approved by the Caltrans.

The RTPA governing board consists of the three members of the Shasta County Board of Supervisors and four City Council members representing Redding, Anderson and the City of Shasta Lake.

The Dana to Downtown Project is on State Route 44 between Interstate 5 and downtown Redding. Once complete the project will relieve congestion in the greater Redding area, improve highway safety, supplement the Redding bike trail system and provide an enhanced gateway into downtown Redding. Project highlights include:

• Access ramp from Dana Drive to westbound SR 44 will give motorists direct westbound access to downtown from the Hilltop/Dana Drive area.

• Replacement of the Sacramento River Bridge with a larger, six-lane facility.

• Construction of a new Bike/Pedestrian path from the Hilltop/Dana Drive intersection to Turtle Bay.

• Replace the Auditorium Drive interchange with a wider, four-lane over crossing.

• Third lane eastbound between East Street and Park Marina Drive off-ramp.

• Third lane in each direction between Auditorium Drive ramps and I-5 ramps.

• Enhanced landscaping, lighting and aesthetics.

Construction is anticipated to begin in April of this year with completion in three years.

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