Loomis applies for federal grant for I-80/Horseshoe Bar interchange

The Town of Loomis recently applied for millions in federal funding for the Interstate 80/Horseshoe Bar Road interchange project. Loomis Town submitted a grant request last month through the office of 3rd District Congressman Kevin Kiley to help fund up to $15 million in improvements proposed for the aging freeway interchange. The "Congressional Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies" appropriation request was for a potential $5 million, Town Manager Wes Heathcock said Tuesday, June 11. "Congressman Kiley has agreed to move the request to the appropriations committee for consideration. Loomis anticipates the funding request will be either partially or fully funded," Heathcock said. "The first one we applied for we did not get," said Councilperson Amanda Cortez, explaining that Heathcock got word of a new grant while on vacation in early May. There was a short window to apply, and Heathcock got it done on his own time, said Cortez. "Kevin Kiley called us and said he approved that appropriations grant," Cortez said. Loomis staff is working to release a request for proposal for a traffic engineering consultant this month to execute the project study report, Heathcock said. The combined cost to execute the PSR is estimated at $300,000. Meanwhile, Loomis Town is beginning to spend millions in developer fees set aside to upgrade the interchange. Loomis collects fees from new development to address impacts on existing public facilities and infrastructure. Staff said one impact fee gathered is to support an estimated $15 million in planned improvements at Interstate 80. The Loomis Interchange Fund had a balance of $3.5 million as of March, staff said. Improvements proposed for Loomis Town's main entrance include new turn lanes, traffic lights, off-ramp widening, over-crossing, roundabouts, resurfacing and other additional infrastructure at the junction. The effort aims to improve the Horseshoe Bar corridor from Taylor Road to I-80, along with upgrades to the freeway interchange itself. "It's a safety issue," said Cortez. On a side note, new Loomis Town Engineer Richard Ly-Lee was recently a Caltrans local oversight manager along the I-80 corridor, including the Horseshoe Bar project.