City of Corona
Staff Report
400 S. Vicentia Ave.
Corona, CA 92882
File #: 22-0465
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 06/01/2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Public Works Department
SUBJECT:
Authorizing submittal of a grant application for the Ontario Widening at I-15 Project through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity Grant Funding Program.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
In April 2022, staff submitted a grant application to the United States Department of Transportation through their Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity Grant Funding Program for the Ontario Widening at I-15 Project. This action is to ratify the decision to submit the application and approve a 20 percent match of the total project cost, which is estimated at $12.5 million, for a $2.5 million match should the City be successful in obtaining the grant. Approval of the grant and local match would fund the right-of-way and total construction cost, and account for cost escalation at the time of construction.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council:
a. Ratify the City Manager’s decision to submit an application through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity Grant Funding Program for the Ontario Widening at I-15 Project.
b. Approve the City’s 20 percent or $2.5 million match, should the City be successful in obtaining the grant for the Ontario Widening at I-15 Project in the amount of $10 million. c. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute any future agreements for funding the Ontario Widening at I-15 Project between Compton Avenue and State Street.
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File #: 22-0465
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
On April 14, 2022, staff submitted a grant application to the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) under the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant Program for the Ontario Avenue/Interstate 15 Multimodal Corridor Enhancement Project (Project). The Project is included in the City’s 2022 Financial Priorities and will construct new travel lanes, dedicated turn lanes, traffic signals, and an Intelligent Transportation System along Ontario Avenue to improve motorist and pedestrian safety, raised medians, new traffic signals, sidewalks, continental crosswalks, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant curb ramps, and dedicated bicycle lanes shall be constructed. The Project will increase the corridor’s resiliency to flooding events with upgrades to the road’s drainage system. Due to the time constraints, staff submitted the application to ensure that the City interest was received before the expiration of the application deadline, and staff is now bringing forward a formal Staff Report for City Council consideration to ratify or overturn the submittal.
ANALYSIS:
The Ontario Widening project at I-15 is not fully funded, and staff is seeking additional funds to complete the Right of Way and Construction portion of the project. The RAISE grant is an opportunity for the City to acquire additional funding for the project while demonstrating the City’s efforts to seek available opportunities. The City has already secured local funding for planning, environmental, design costs, and aims to close gaps in funding by utilizing the RAISE grant for the eligible right-of-way and construction costs.
The Project will provide an additional travel lane in both the eastbound and westbound direction of travel between Compton Avenue and the Interstate 15 Freeway and provide a smoother transition between the portion of Ontario Avenue under the jurisdiction of the County of Riverside (east of State Street). Beyond the additional travel lanes, the Project will add numerous other features to improve vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle travel through the Interstate 15 Freeway Interchange with Ontario Avenue. Should the City be awarded funding from the USDOT RAISE Grant, the City would be required to provide a 20% local match.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Approval of the recommendations within this report would ratify the decision to submit the grant application to the USDOT through their RAISE Grant Funding Program for the Ontario Widening at I15 Project. The 20 percent local match would be from the existing project resources.
The City currently also has cost-sharing agreements for the project with the Riverside County Transportation Commission (for total Project costs of approximately 22%) and Caltrans (for construction in the Caltrans right-of-way, approximately 60%), which further helps reduce the project costs to the City.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) 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 City of Corona Page 2 of 3 Printed on 5/26/2022
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File #: 22-0465
no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This action authorizes the submittal of a grant application, and there is no possibility this will have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: SERENA HINOJOSA, ASSOCIATE ENGINEER
REVIEWED BY: SAVAT KHAMPHOU, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - Location Map
2. Exhibit 2 - Application Narrative Submittal
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