Fortuna council adopts mitigated negative declaration for Twelfth Street interchange project

The Fortuna City Council on a 3-0 vote adopted a mitigated negative declaration under the California Environmental Quality Act and approved the Twelfth Street Interchange Modernization Project, a multi-year effort to replace nonstandard intersection geometry at Twelfth Street, Newberg Road and the US 101 ramps.

The decision formalizes staff’s environmental finding that, while the project would cause impacts in several categories, all identified impacts can be reduced to less‑than‑significant levels through mitigation measures listed in the project Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program. Brendan (Staff member) and consultants detailed a design centered on a five‑leg single‑lane roundabout, pedestrian-only bridge over US 101 and a continuous multiuse path connecting across the interchange.

Why it matters: the project targets a known collision history and deficient pedestrian and bicycle connections where the current layout “offers limited to no bike and ped connectivity” across the overcrossing, staff said. Council approval allows staff to complete the federally required…