DATE: 10/02/2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Public Works Department
2024-56
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBJECT:
ACCEPTANCE AND APPROPRIATION OF THE RIVERSIDE COUNTY
TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION SENATE BILL 125 TRANSIT AND INTERCITY
RAIL CAPITAL PROGRAM FUNDING FOR THE MCKINLEY STREET GRADE SEPARATION CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT NO. ST-2012-01
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to accept and appropriate Riverside County Transportation Commission Senate Bill 125 Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program funds, in the amount of $10 million, for the City of Corona’s McKinley Street Grade Separation Capital Improvement Project. In addition, the report asks the City Council to approve a funding agreement between the Riverside County Transportation Commission and the City of Corona.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council:
a. Accept Senate Bill 125 Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program funding from the Riverside County Transportation Commission in the amount of $10,000,000 for the McKinley Street Grade Separation Capital Improvement Project No. ST-2012-01. b. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute a funding agreement between the City of Corona and the Riverside County Transportation Commission that allocates $10,000,000 from the Senate Bill 125 Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program to the McKinley Street Grade Separation Capital Improvement Project No. ST-2012-01.
c. Authorize an estimated revenue increase in the amount of $10,000,000 in the Public Works Grants/Agreement Fund 243 and appropriate the same amount to the McKinley Street Grade Separation Capital Improvement Project No. ST-2012-
01. BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The City of Corona (City) is nearing completion of the McKinley Street Grade Separation Project (Project). The Project includes the construction of a 4-lane overhead grade separation with pre-cast panel/mechanically stabilized earth retaining wall systems over the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway railroad crossing and Arlington Channel south of Sampson Avenue. Additional improvements include loop on-ramp, slip on-ramp, new loop road, and modifications to the State Route 91 eastbound off-ramp. The Project has been primarily funded by State Senate Bill 132, along with several other state and local sources of funding.
During the course of construction, the City encountered structural steel shortages and unforeseen delays in the fabrication process of the bridge. As a result of the delays and other circumstances, the City’s project team reassessed the cost of completion of the Project and determined that additional funding was required to offset the estimated increase to the overall Project cost. Staff approached the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) to pursue additional funding sources to balance the deficit.
In 2023, California Senate Bill 125 (SB 125) was passed and directed regional transportation agencies, including RCTC, to distribute funding for high-priority projects that enhance public transit ridership and directly benefit local communities. At its regular commission meeting on July 10, 2024, RCTC approved an allocation of $10,000,000 from the SB 125 Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) funds to the City’s Project.
ANALYSIS:
This funding will provide a portion of the remaining amount necessary to complete the Project. The City previously committed available local funds to the Project, resulting in no local match requirement associated with receiving these funds.
Approval of the recommended actions will provide revised available funding as follows:
Funding Source Amount
State Senate Bill 132 $84,450,000
Trade Corridor Enhancement Program (TCEP) $10,300,000
Measure A Western County Regional Arterial (MARA) $9,889,692 City of Corona Measure X Funds $5,001,956
Section 190 Grade Separation Program $5,000,000
Local Measure A $4,025,000
Burlington North Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) Contributions $3,810,000 Highway Railroad Crossing Safety Crossing Account (HRCSA) $2,876,960 Transportation Development Act (TDA) $2,000,000
Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fees (TUMF) $1,626,084 Western Municipal Water District (WMWD) Cooperative Agreement $1,439,143 Development Impact Fees (DIF) – Drainage $1,000,000
Development Impact Fees (DIF) – Streets/Signals $1,000,000 Gas Tax $729,724
Road Maintenance Rehabilitation Accountability (RMRA) $500,000 SB 125 Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) $10,000,000 Total $143,648,559
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Approval of the recommended actions will result in an appropriation and estimated revenue increase in the amount of $10,000,000 from the Public Works Grants/Agreement Fund 243 to the McKinley Street Grade Separation Capital Improvement Project No. ST-2012-01.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
Per Public Resources Code Section 21080.13, all railroad grade separation projects that eliminate an existing at-grade crossing is exempt per the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). As a grade separation project, this Project is statutorily exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act. The recommended actions are to accept a new funding source and appropriate the funding to the McKinley Street Grade Separation Capital Improvement Project No. ST-2012-01, and there is no possibility that accepting the funding will have a significant impact on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: PEDRO CEVALLOS, MANAGEMENT ANALYST II
REVIEWED BY: SAVAT KHAMPHOU, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Exhibit 1 – RCTC TIRCP Draft Funding Agreement
2. Exhibit 2 - RCTC Commission Meeting Staff Report for July 10, 2024