Title
Request Authorization to Submit Federal Transit Administration Grant Application and Enter into Grant Agreements - Northwest Extension Phase II Light Rail Project (Ordinance S-47014)
Description
Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to apply for Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grant assistance for the Northwest Extension Phase II (NWEII) Project and execute an agreement with FTA to accept an awarded grant, and then enter into an agreement with Valley Metro Rail, Inc. (VMR) to pass-through the awarded FTA grant funds from the City to VMR. Further request to authorize the City Treasurer to receive, and the City Controller to disburse, grant funds in accordance with the terms of the aforementioned grants and agreements. The total grant funds in the application will not exceed $159 million.
Report
Summary
The NWEII Project is a 1.6-mile light rail project extending west from the current light rail terminus at 19th Avenue and Dunlap Avenue. The extension will run along Dunlap Avenue to 25th Avenue, then north to Mountain View Road, and then west across Interstate 17, via an elevated structure over the freeway, to its terminus adjacent to Metrocenter Mall.
The project includes three new stations at the following locations:
- Near Dunlap Avenue and 25th Avenue;
- On the south end of the Rose Mofford Sports Complex; and
- At the terminus, an expanded multi-modal transit center and park-and-ride.
Phoenix is the designated recipient of FTA grant funds for the Phoenix-Mesa Urbanized Area, and as the designated recipient, submits FTA grant applications on behalf of all local governments and agencies in the region.
The NWEII Project's application will be submitted as a New Starts Project in the FTA’s Capital Investment Grant Program. This Project is in the Maricopa Association of Governments' approved Transportation Improvement Program and the Arizona Department of Transportation's approved State Transportation Improvement Program.
Financial Impact
There is no financial impact to the City of Phoenix. However, grant funds passed through to VMR will be used to reimburse the City of Phoenix for funds advanced to cover the federal share of the Project's costs.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
This item was recommended for approval at the Transportation, Infrastructure and Innovation Subcommittee meeting on Oct. 7, 2020, by a vote of 3-0.
Location
Dunlap Avenue to 25th Avenue, then north to Mountain View Road, and then west across Interstate 17, via an elevated structure over the freeway, to its terminus adjacent to Metrocenter Mall.
Council District: 1
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Mario Paniagua and the Public Transit Department.