City of Corona
Staff Report
400 S. Vicentia Ave.
Corona, CA 92882
File #: 22-0467
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 06/01/2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Public Works Department
SUBJECT:
Acceptance of a Section 130 Grant from the California Public Utilities Commission for the redesign and construction of safety enhancements at the Radio Road at-grade railroad crossing.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
City Council consideration of the acceptance of a 100 percent reimbursable project grant and concurrence to move forward with the redesign and construction of safety enhancements at the Radio Road at-grade railroad crossing. The Section 130 program is a federally funded project grant administered by the California Department of Transportation. The Radio Road at-grade railroad crossing location was nominated by the California Public Utilities Commission as a candidate for the elimination of hazards at highway-rail at-grade crossings. The project has a 100 percent reimbursable cost of approximately $3,340,000.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council:
a. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute the California Public Utilities Commission Project Initiation Document indicating intent to move forward with the Radio Road Railroad Grade Crossing Improvement Project, No. 2022-09. b. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute a Funding Agreement between the City and the State of California Department of Transportation that allocates up to $3,340,000 from the Section 130 program for the Radio Road Railroad Grade Crossing Improvement Project and to approve any modifications as to form of the Funding Agreement deemed necessary by the City Attorney, which does not impact the funding to be paid and are consistent with the Council’s directions herein.
c. Authorize the creation of a new Capital Improvement Project titled, "Radio Road Railroad City of Corona Page 1 of 3 Printed on 5/26/2022
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File #: 22-0467
Grade Crossing Improvement Project, No. 2022-09."
d. Authorize an appropriation and estimated revenue increase in the amount of $3,340,000 in the Public Works Grants/Agreement Fund (243) for the Radio Road Railroad Grade Crossing Improvement Project, CIP Project No. 2022-09.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
Title 23 of the United States Code, Section 130, is a Railroad-Highway Crossing Program (RHCP) created by Congress in 1987. The RHCP is a collective effort led by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), funded by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and implemented by Caltrans in cooperation with local agencies and railway companies throughout California. The program's overall goal is to eliminate hazards at existing public at-grade highway-rail crossings.
The City of Corona's at-grade rail crossing at Radio Road was identified by the CPUC for possible funding for hazard elimination and safety improvements through the Federal Section 130 funds. This location was identified as a candidate location via a data-driven methodology which includes but is not limited to train and vehicle volumes, geometric factors, pedestrians, buses and hazmat vehicles, and incident history.
ANALYSIS:
The Radio Road at-grade crossing is an asphalt paved road with two through lanes, approximately 26 feet wide, with no sidewalks. The crossing is located approximately 100 feet south of the Sampson Avenue and Radio Road intersection. This intersection has a stop sign control for Sampson Avenue traffic only. The Quarry Street and Radio Road intersection is north of the crossing. This intersection has a stop sign control for Quarry Street traffic only. There is a bridge approximately 40 feet to the north of the crossing. The width of the bridge is a limiting factor for this project, as widening the bridge exceeds the program parameters.
The crossing is equipped with two CPUC Standard No. 9 automatic gate-type warning devices. There are three tracks at this location, two main tracks, and one other track. The track surfacing consists of concrete panels with a width of 48 feet and meets the road at 90 degrees. The proposed improvements at this crossing would incorporate raised center medians and provide a designated safe path for pedestrian travel. Additionally, these improvements would be beneficial if the crossing were to be included in a quiet zone corridor in the future. The grant will fund the Preliminary Engineering, Right-of-Way, and Construction of these identified improvements.
The Radio Road Railroad Grade Crossing Improvement Project, consists of a federally funded, reimbursable project for railroad-highway at-grade crossing improvements. The project is administered by the California Department of Transportation, with whom the City would enter into a project funding agreement. Generally, CPUC section 130 projects are 90 percent federally funded and require a local agency match of 10percent. Due to the California Department of Transportation's surplus of toll credit funding, the State has opted to cover the agency match portion with these funds. Therefore, the Radio Road Railroad Grade Crossing Improvement Project is 100 percent reimbursable to the City.
City of Corona Page 2 of 3 Printed on 5/26/2022
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File #: 22-0467
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The project is 90 percent federally funded, with the remaining 10 percent contributed by the California Department of Transportation Toll Credits funding source. Because the Project is 100 percent funded, there is no financial contribution from the City to complete this Project.
Approval of the recommended actions will result in an appropriation and estimated revenue increase in the amount of $3,340,000 in the Public Works Grants/Agreement Fund (243) for the newly created Capital Improvement Project titled, “Radio Road Railroad Grade Crossing Improvement Project, No. 2022-09.”
Fund 07/01/21 Est.
Fund Balance
Budgeted
Revenues/
Sources
Budgeted
Expenditures/
Uses
Fund Balance
Impacts
06/30/22 Est.
Fund Balance
Public Works Grants /
Agreement Fund 243
[Note 1]
($72,530,892) $33,684,152 ($33,684,152) Appropriation
($3,340,000)
Revenue Increase
$3,340,000
($72,530,892)
Note 1: Negative ending balance due to revenue/reimbursement offset expected in outyears. Revenue recognized when expensed.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15302 of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the commonsense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. The requested actions are to construct a replacement facility at an existing location.
The new facility is located on the same site and will have substantially the same purpose and capacity of the facility it will replace; therefore, no possibility exists that these actions will have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required, and a Notice of Exemption will be filed with the County of Riverside.
PREPARED BY: AARON M. COX, P.E., SENIOR ENGINEER - TRAFFIC REVIEWED BY: SAVAT KHAMPHOU, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - CPUC Project Initiation Document (PID)
2. Exhibit 2 - Caltrans Memorandum covering local agency contribution with Toll Credits City of Corona Page 3 of 3 Printed on 5/26/2022
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