Ord Ferry Road over Little Chico Creek Bridge Replacement (Project) (California Endangered Species Act Incidental Take Permit No. 2081-2021-065-02-A1 (ITP))

Ord Ferry Road over Little Chico Creek Bridge Replacement (Project) (California Endangered Species Act Incidental Take Permit No. 2081-2021-065-02-A1 (ITP))

The Project includes removal of the structurally deficient existing bridge and construction of a new wider bridge on the existing alignment. The new bridge cast-in-place reinforced concrete slab bridge will be founded on cast-in-steel-shell piles and will be 640 feet long by approximately 43 feet wide. Ord Ferry Road will be widened to 40 feet for a length of approximately 400’ feet to the west and 500’ to the east of the proposed bridge. Existing electrical, telephone, and fiber optic utilities located on the west side of the Ord Ferry Road will need to be relocated as part of the project. Phasing of the bridge and roadway approach construction is required to keep the road open to conventional traffic during construction operations. This phased bridge construction alternative would require two construction seasons and approximately 18 months of single lane traffic control utilizing a temporary traffic signal system. A temporary access road will need to be installed to facilitate construction access. The access road will require installing a clear water diversion within Little Chico Creek from May 1 through October 31 in both seasons of construction. The field northwest of the existing bridge will serve as a staging area for equipment and materials. Tree removal and impacts to riparian and grassland habitats are anticipated the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is approving an amendment to the ITP that includes the following changes: First, this Amendment updates the methods of compensatory mitigation to fully mitigate Project impacts to CVSR. Second, this Amendment updates the required Security amount to reflect the costs of both proposed and completed compensatory mitigation. The Project will result in impacts to 2.36 acres of giant garter snake (GGS, Thamnophis gigas) habitat including temporary impacts to 1.71 acres; the Project will permanently remove 0.65 acres of GGS habitat. In addition, the Project will result in impacts to 0.0613 acres of Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon (CVSR, Oncorhynchus tshawytcha) habitat including temporary impacts to 0.06 acres; the Project will permanently remove 0.0013 acres of CVSR habitat. The project is expected to result in incidental take of GGS and CVSR, which are designated as threatened species under the California Endangered Species Act. The Amendment to the ITP as issued by CDFW changes the CVSR compensatory mitigation method from purchase of credits at a conservation bank to a habitat restoration project on conserved lands. This Amendment also reduces the Security amount required as the County has completed the purchase of GGS credits at a CDFW-approved conservation bank and provided a bill of sale as proof.

Butte

Northern California

Butte