Mono Lake action center

Thank you for your interest in this project. The California Department of Transportation's comment period for a proposed highway project next to Mono Lake ended September 24th. We will be posting updates about the response to comments and next steps in the development of this project on The Mono-logue.

Mouse over the images below from the Old Marina entrance to view Caltrans' visual simulations of the proposal.

Option 1:


Option 2:

Background information about Caltrans' rockfall project:

The project proposes to address rockfall issues for six roadcuts north of Lee Vining on the west side of Highway 395. The roadcuts are located in the Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area along a one-mile stretch of Highway 395 across from Old Marina, the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve visitor site. The roadcuts range from 30 to over 100 feet tall, and generally increase in size from south to north.

The Mono Lake Committee has been visiting the site with Caltrans staff regularly to gain an understanding of the engineering options and constraints and to share thoughts on how the project can successfully stabilize and revegetate the roadcuts to blend in with the surrounding slopes. Now we need your help to send Caltrans a strong message that Design Option 1 has significant unacceptable visual impacts.

Design Option 2 has the potential to become a successful project, but only if a revised environmental document fully mitigates the significant negative visual and water quality impacts with clear, firm plans to assure slope stability and long-term re-vegetation success. This will not only improve highway safety, but also minimize visual impairment of this internationally recognized scenic area, and prevent future water quality problems.

You can view more photos and visual simulations of the project options in the Draft Initial Study below.

• Read the Mono-logue post: "New Mono Lake highway project up for review"
• See page 10 of the Summer 2012 Mono Lake Newsletter for a summary of the project
• View Caltrans' Draft Initial Study with Proposed Negative Declaration/Environmental Assessment

Committee staff, experts, and legal counsel reviewed the plans and prepared the Mono Lake Committee's analysis. We submitted our comments on September 24th.

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