The Santa Clarita City Council is set to meet Tuesday night to vote on awarding a contract for the Dockweiler extension design.

On April 10, 2018, the City Council approved the alignment of Dockweiler Drive to connect to Railroad Avenue at 13th Street in Newhall. The alignment would require improvements to both Arch Street and 13th Street, along with a fully upgraded railroad crossing at 13th Street and Railroad Avenue. 

The proposed roadway improvements would consist of a four-lane roadway with a 12-foot raised landscaped median, a 13-foot-wide sidewalk/parkway and a 5-foot-wide bike lane on each side, according to City Council documents.

The City Council is now set to vote on approving a design contract for the Dockweiler extension to MNS Engineers, Inc. MNS worked in Santa Clarita in 2008, widening Interstate 5 in the Magic Mountain Pkwy area, as well as constructing new on and offramps.

The total contract amount is said to not exceed $3,046,543, according to City documents.

Many Dockweiler residents and Placerita Canyon officials agree that a new Dockweiler extension would disrupt the surrounding community, according to officials. 

Dockweiler resident Don Zerbell said her concern with the project is with safety and preserving the community’s calm environment.

“We need to protect our animals, our children and our community’s way of life,” Zerbell said. “We don’t have sidewalks, we don’t have gutters, we don’t have those things. We don’t want a five-entry roundabout that’s going to kill somebody.”

When originally approved last April, the Dockweiler extension was meant to fully upgrade the crossing to include three westbound lanes leaving the canyon and two eastbound lanes to improve the flow of traffic, according to officials.

Students from The Master’s University, located in Placerita Canyon, have expressed support for the new road.

“This new road will give students easier access to get to the CA-14 highway instead of always driving down Placerita Canyon,” said David Wismer, a former senior at TMU. “There will be connecting roads from where the dorms are located in order to quickly get off campus.”

Originally constructed in the early 1990s, Dockweiler Drive currently connects to Sierra Highway to the east and terminates 500 feet west of Valle del Oro.

According to the City of Santa Clarita’s General Plan, Dockweiler Drive is designated as a secondary highway to connect Sierra Highway to Railroad Ave.

Southern California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink) is set to be allowed a design services agreement not exceeding $241,395. The agreement includes project management, design review, permit processing, flagman service and the design of the signal system for the 13th Street rail crossing.

Via Princessa Bridge and Thoroughfare is to contribute $2,500,000 into the expenditure, as well as Transportation Development Act funding in the amount of $787,938.

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