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Council approves MOU with Kern County for Tucker–Highline roundabout using CMAQ grant
Summary
The council voted 4-0 to enter a memorandum of understanding with Kern County to build a roundabout at Tucker Road and Highline Road, using a CMAQ grant; total project estimate $3.8 million, city share roughly $139,000 under a 35/65 split.
The Tehachapi City Council voted 4-0 to approve a memorandum of understanding with Kern County to build a roundabout at Tucker Road and Highline Road, a project estimated at about $3.8 million that the city and county will advance using a federal congestion mitigation and air quality (CMAQ) grant administered through the Kern Council of Governments.
Jay, the city’s development services director, told the council the intersection — today a four-way stop — was identified jointly by city and county engineers as needing improvement for safety and traffic efficiency. “The idea for a roundabout felt both safer and more efficient,” Jay said, citing speed differentials between Highline (higher-speed commuter traffic) and Tucker (lower-speed turning traffic) and noting roundabouts reduce the severity of crashes.
The city and county agreed on a cost-sharing split that reflects the county’s ownership of three of the intersection’s four legs; under the proposed arrangement the county would pay the larger share and the city’s estimated share is roughly $139,000. The project requires a local match of about 11.5 percent of the total — approximately $432,000 — with participating agencies using traffic-impact fee funds to cover the match.
Resident James Wilhelm spoke during public comment opposing the roundabout and favoring a traffic signal with left-turn arrows; he said enforcement was limited and expressed concern that roundabouts can encourage aggressive driving. Jay and other staff responded that a traffic signal with left-turn lanes would require more pavement work and a larger local share, and that the CMAQ scoring metrics that secured the grant favored a roundabout for congestion mitigation and air-quality benefits.
A council member asked about relative costs; staff said a basic signal might cost in the “$400,000–$500,000” range but adding turn-lane widening could raise a signal option to $1 million–$1.5 million. Council members additionally discussed maintenance costs and the public learning curve associated with roundabouts.
After discussion, a motion to approve the MOU and authorize the mayor to sign carried 4-0.
