Title
Apply for Federal Funding for U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program (Ordinance S-47802)
Description
Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to apply for, accept, and if awarded, enter into agreements for disbursement of U.S. Department of Transportation federal railroad funding for the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program grant opportunity. Further request to authorize the City Treasurer to accept, and the City Controller to disburse, all funds related to this item. If awarded, the City would receive grant funding for an amount not to exceed $10 million and provide matching funds in an amount not to exceed $3 million.
Report
Summary
The Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program offers an opportunity to leverage local funds for transportation projects under the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020. Funds for the grant are to be awarded on a competitive basis. The Street Transportation Department anticipates the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration to issue a Notice of Funding Opportunity in late June for a CRISI grant award for fiscal year (FY) 2021. The amount of available funding is unknown at this time, but the available funding for FY 2020 was $320,637,948.
The U.S. railway network is central to the success of the American economy, carrying more than 1.8 billion tons of freight valued at over $830 million annually, and over 32.5 million passengers on intercity rail services. A strong transportation network is critical to the function and growth of the American economy. Congress authorized this grant program for the Secretary of Transportation to invest in a wide range of projects within the United States to improve railroad safety, efficiency and reliability, mitigate congestion, enhance multi-modal connections and lead to new or substantially improved railway corridors.
Street Transportation Department staff is collaborating on a CRISI grant submittal that will outline critical improvements on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway crossings along 19th Avenue and McDowell Road as well as 43rd Avenue and Camelback Road. These regional freight corridors will benefit from safety and efficiency improvements. BNSF is in full support of the CRISI grant submittal for the above-mentioned locations and has been a partner to the recommended preliminary engineering efforts to date at both locations.
The City's local match would be a minimum of 20 percent, which would be $2 million of the total project design and construction cost if the maximum award is requested and awarded. However, to be competitive at a national level for the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety improvements Program grant, it is not uncommon for local matches to be up to 30 percent, or up to $3 million, if the maximum award is requested and awarded.
Financial Impact
If selected, the CRISI grant will fund up to 80 percent of the total design and construction costs for proposed improvements. The Street Transportation Department intends to submit a grant application for up to $10 million that includes design, environmental, soft costs and construction costs related to the project. Staff recommends the City provide a competitive 30 percent total project cost match, up to $3 million, which is available in the Street Transportation Department's Capital Improvement Program budget.
Location
19th Avenue and McDowell Road
43rd Avenue and Camelback Road
Council Districts: 4, 5 and 7
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Mario Paniagua and the Street Transportation Department.