
Since federal officials closed Folsom Dam Road in February, traffic accidents on alternate routes have increased 75 percent, and the city of Folsom is paying $10,000 more a week for policing and traffic control, officials said.

The road's indefinite closure has been linked to one road-rage incident and has caused daily traffic jams and a significant loss of business in the city.

"It's a terrible thing. It continues to worsen," said Folsom Councilman Jeff Starsky. "If we close our eyes, I don't see those problems going away."

Frustrated city officials are appealing to area congressmen and the Bureau of Reclamation -- the federal arm that controls the dam and closed the road -- for help.

They are asking the bureau to reopen the road, reimburse the city for the costs incurred and, eventually, build a new bridge downstream from Folsom Dam.

Before its closure, Folsom Dam Road served as one of the main connectors between El Dorado and Placer counties, and joined the two parts of Folsom separated by water. Each day, 18,000 vehicles crossed the 480-foot-high dam road.

The city has adjusted traffic signals, tried stationing officers at key intersections and encouraged motorists to drive alternate routes outside city limits.

This week the city hired a consulting firm, DKS Associates, to conduct a $52,900 traffic study. During the next three to four months, the firm's engineers will examine the city's roadway system and determine what changes can ease traffic flow.

"We've done everything we can reasonably do," said Mark Rackovan, the city's traffic engineer. "We need somebody to look at the entire system."

City officials say they will seek reimbursement from the Bureau of Reclamation for all expenditures related to the closure.

The Bureau of Reclamation closed the dam road Feb. 28 out of concern over potential terrorist activity. Officials said they had no evidence that terrorists were targeting Folsom Dam, but couldn't take chances. The Bee reported in March that federal officials were responding to a Defense Department analysis singling out Folsom Dam as a top potential target among US dams.

The Defense Department, using a CIA-developed analysis system, said Folsom Dam stood out among other dams for two reasons: the effect a break in the dam would have on the 900,000 people in its shadow, and the dam's accessibility. Folsom Dam was one of only two dams in the West with a public road at its top.

Area congressmen have asked Congress to authorize funding for a new bridge, but their legislation has been tied up in politics. Even if a funding bill passes, building another bridge would take five years, officials said.

Thousands of drivers who depended on the dam road now snake through Folsom's streets during peak commute hours. With the rising accident rate and at least one documented road-rage incident, getting to and from work unscathed is becoming increasingly difficult, police said.

Accidents on the alternate routes -- which include Folsom-Auburn Road, Natoma Street and Riley Street through Rainbow Bridge -- shot up 75 percent in March, as compared to March 2002, said Police Chief Sam Spiegel. Police reported 49 accidents on those routes, compared with 28 on the same streets in March 2002. The police report found a ripple effect on traffic throughout the city. In March 2002, there were 58 accidents compared to 79 accidents in March this year, an increase of 36'2 percent.

For Folsom police, the dam road closure has created another roadblock in their attempt to lower emergency response times, which averaged 9'4 minutes, according to the latest statistics available.

Various studies show most citizens say five minutes or less is acceptable. By comparison, the Roseville Police Department reports its median response time last year was 4 1/2 minutes.

Law enforcement and emergency response vehicles currently have access to the dam road, which is blocked by locked gates and concrete barricades, said Jeff McCracken, spokesman for the Bureau of Reclamation.

But for police, using the dam road isn't realistic, Spiegel said.

"Even if an officer came rushing up to the gates, sirens and lights blazing, they would still have to get out of their vehicle, unlock the gate, drive through, get out of their vehicle again, lock the gate, zoom down the road, and repeat the entire procedure again," Spiegel said.

McCracken said the Bureau of Reclamation ultimately hopes to upgrade the barriers so emergency response personnel wouldn't have to use the lock-and-key system.

"What we're envisioning would be something more sophisticated that would allow authorized vehicles rapid-ability access," McCracken said. "Along the lines of the things they have in place at the White House."

The Folsom City Council wrote a letter to the bureau citing the need for improved police access, as well as asking it to reopen the dam road during peak traffic hours. The council suggested the bureau could install traffic checkpoints at each end of the road and conduct random vehicle searches to maintain security.

Folsom businesses are seeing sales drop because of the dam road closure. The Folsom Chamber of Commerce is conducting a detailed study on the impact.

"There's no doubt revenues are down for most people," said Bob Setnick, owner of Setnick's In Time Again on Sutter Street. He said revenues at his antique-furniture store have dropped 20 percent since the road's closure.

Bob Leaf, owner of Coffee Republic on Folsom-Auburn Road, estimates he has lost 50 regular customers, which, he said, equates to a loss of $5,000 a month.

To see how other businesses are faring in the Ashland Station shopping center, Leaf is conducting his own study. So far, the center is reporting sales declines of 10 to 25 percent.

Meanwhile, Rep. Doug Ose, R-Sacramento, has proposed that the Bureau of Reclamation fund the entire cost of a $66 million new bridge below the dam. The Bush administration opposed Rocklin Republican John Doolittle's similar approach in the last congressional session.

Rep. Bob Matsui, D-Sacramento, also introduced a bill to build a bridge below the dam. His would require local government to pay for 20 percent of the bridge's cost and would raise the Folsom Dam by 7 feet. Raising the dam's height conflicts with Doolittle's proposal for a dam at Auburn.

Support has broken down along party lines.
