Caltrans Letter Outlines First Steps, Funding Questions for Potential Bishop Truck Route

Caltrans Letter Outlines First Steps, Funding Questions for Potential Bishop Truck Route

BISHOP, Calif. — A letter from Caltrans is providing new detail about what would be required to move forward with studying a potential route to divert heavy truck traffic away from downtown Bishop.

In a public Facebook post, Inyo County District 4 Supervisor Jennifer Roeser shared a July 7 letter from Caltrans District 9 Director Ryan Dermody to Inyo County Local Transportation Commission Vice Chair Jeffery Ray.

The letter responds to a May 27 request asking Caltrans District 9 to initiate a Project Initiation Document, or PID, to evaluate alternatives for rerouting heavy truck traffic around Bishop’s downtown corridor.

The important distinction is that Caltrans has not approved a bypass or selected a route.

Instead, the PID would be the first formal step in determining what alternatives may be feasible.

Dermody described a PID as “the first step in evaluating a project proposal.” According to his letter, the process would examine planning, scope, cost, schedule and a full range of alternatives.

Completing a PID would also not establish a preferred alternative. Dermody said a preferred option would only be selected later, following the Project Approval and Environmental Document process.

Bishop Has Been Here Before

The idea of moving truck traffic away from downtown Bishop is not new.

Dermody wrote that alternate routes around Bishop have been studied “numerous times over several decades,” with previous efforts ending without further project development following public engagement, feedback from business owners and decisions by the Bishop City Council.

That history was also a major focus of Roeser’s post.

Roeser, who served on the Inyo LTC from 2021 through 2025, said the truck-route issue came before the commission again in 2024, when it was raised by LTC Commissioner Stephen Muchovej.

Official LTC minutes from December 2024 confirm that Muchovej discussed Main Street traffic and truck volumes and argued that the issue should be framed as a potential Highway 6 bypass or truck route.

Roeser wrote that Caltrans had previously studied bypass concepts at least three times at the City of Bishop’s request and that none of those earlier alternatives ultimately moved forward.

Caltrans’ letter independently confirms that alternative routes have been examined numerous times, although it does not specify a number.

Roeser also said circumstances have changed and that revisiting previous studies may be worthwhile.

Truck traffic through Bishop has increased. During the Bishop City Council’s May 11 discussion, officials presented traffic data showing an increase in heavy trucks since 2017, while Muchovej argued that a growing share of the trucks passing through Bishop are traveling to or from Highway 6.

Roeser said she believes any new process should also determine whether Bishop residents and business owners now support such a route.

That concern is consistent with Inyo County’s 2023 Regional Transportation Plan, which notes longstanding concerns from some downtown businesses about the potential economic effect of a bypass. The same plan found that 12 percent of respondents to its community survey independently identified a truck bypass as a transportation priority.

What Would a PID Actually Do?

A PID would begin answering basic questions before any route could be seriously considered.

According to Dermody, the process would examine possible alignments, operational and maintenance requirements, and potential changes in jurisdiction for existing and affected state highway segments.

It would also include public involvement.

“Caltrans is committed to meaningful and transparent public engagement throughout this process,” Dermody wrote.

Because of the location and scope of the potential project, he added that tribal engagement and consultation would be an “essential and integral component” of the effort.

The Bishop City Council formally voted 5-0 in May to request that Caltrans initiate a PID examining a potential truck route east of Bishop. The council’s request specifically asked that the study evaluate a route east of the airport that could connect State Route 6 with U.S. 395 several miles south of the city.

That remains a concept to be studied — not an approved alignment.

Funding May Be the Bigger Challenge

Dermody’s letter also makes clear that completing the initial study would be only the beginning.

Caltrans intends to request funding for the PID from its statewide PID budget in 2027.

If the proposal moves beyond that stage, however, Dermody wrote that it would fall outside the scope of the State Highway Operation and Protection Program.

Future phases would therefore require the City of Bishop and Inyo LTC to pursue other funding sources, potentially including Inyo County’s State Transportation Improvement Program allocation, competitive grants and federal funding.

Environmental review, design, right-of-way acquisition and construction would each require additional funding.

“The overall project timeline, from PID initiation to construction, would extend over many years and is dependent on funding availability at each stage,” Dermody wrote.

That funding question is a major part of Roeser’s concern.

Inyo County has dealt with a substantial negative STIP balance in recent years following regional transportation funding commitments associated with the U.S. 395 and State Route 14 corridor.

Official LTC records show that in 2022 Inyo had a roughly $15.5 million negative STIP balance while also being owed approximately $6.3 million through a regional funding arrangement involving Kern, Inyo and Mono counties. Officials said at the time that even recovery of that money would still have left Inyo about $9 million in the negative.

Regional transportation records later stated that Inyo’s deficit prevented the commission from programming new projects during that RTIP cycle.

Roeser said that history should be considered before committing local transportation dollars to another major project.

If the LTC ultimately chooses to pursue a truck route after the PID process, she said using Inyo’s own STIP funding would be within the commission’s authority — but could affect how soon other transportation priorities receive funding.

She also noted that officials could seek additional funding from the California Transportation Commission or other sources.

Would It Actually Be Trucks Only?

Roeser raised another question based on her own experience as a Class A driver who has hauled livestock for decades.

She pointed to the truck bypass near the State Routes 14 and Interstate 5 junction near Sylmar, saying that in her experience passenger vehicles frequently use that route as well.

“I wouldn’t assume that a Highway 6 bypass, as clever as the proposal is, would be used exclusively by trucks,” Roeser wrote.

That is one of the issues a future study and project-development process could examine.

Roeser also suggested that a route east of Bishop could potentially have transportation benefits related to Bishop Airport if commercial air service continues to expand.

What Happens Now?

For now, no Bishop truck route has been approved.

Caltrans has said it intends to seek funding for a PID, which would begin the formal process of studying alternatives.

The agency has also offered to meet with the Inyo LTC to discuss the PID process, possible funding sources, public engagement and tribal consultation.

Any actual project would require additional study, environmental review, funding decisions and public involvement before a route could be selected or construction could occur.

Roeser’s Facebook post can be viewed here.