Title
RESOLUTION PROPOSING SUPPORT FOR THE COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION’S BUILD GRANT PROPOSAL
Body
Summary and Background Information: The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development, or BUILD Transportation Discretionary Grant program <https://www.transportation.gov/BUILDgrants/about>, which will make $1.5 billion available to surface transportation projects nationwide. Eligible capital projects include:
• Road or bridge projects eligible under title 23, United States Code;
• Public transportation projects eligible under chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code;
• Passenger and freight rail transportation projects;
• Port infrastructure investments (including inland port infrastructure and land ports of entry); and intermodal projects.
The BUILD program replaces the previous TIGER and INFRA federal discretionary grant programs. Eligible applicants (state DOTs or state, local, and tribal governments, including transit agencies, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), and other political subdivisions of State or local governments) can submit up to three applications. Grant sizes range from $5 million to $25 million, and no more than $150 million can be awarded to a single state. Grants must be submitted by July 19, 2018.
Projects submitted for BUILD will be evaluated based on merit criteria that include safety, economic competitiveness, quality of life, environmental protection, state of good repair, innovation, partnership, and additional non-Federal revenue for future transportation infrastructure investments. As is the case with other discretionary grant programs, significant matching funds above the minimum are required in order to be competitive.
The Colorado Transportation Commission <https://www.codot.gov/about/transportation-commission/meeting-agenda.html> considered not only which projects to put forward, but also a commitment to providing matching funds, should an application be successful. A key element in identifying proposed projects is local partnership. Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) staff worked with the CDOT regions and planning partners to identify a suite of proposed projects that are likely to be competitive. Five candidate projects have been identified and approved for the BUILD solicitation <https://www.codot.gov/about/transportation-commission/documents/2018-agendas-and-supporting-documents/june-2018/3-build-grant-memo-june-2018-tc-memo.pdf>, including the U.S. 85/120th Avenue interchange. Of these, one application is likely to be put forth by CDOT, with the other four possibly being local applications, although the majority of matching funds would still need to come from CDOT as a commitment from the Transportation Commission.
Weld County will submit the grant, using CDOT’s existing subconsultant to modify the most recent INFRA grant - which the city participated in - with minor updates. Both agencies are seeking continued support (advocacy and financial) from Commerce City, Adams County, City of Brighton, and City of Thornton. City staff has participated in a conference call, will review the draft grant and provide comments, reviewing the final document prior to submittal on July 16, 2018.
One of city council’s goals is to develop and maintain public infrastructure to improve community appearance and encourage private investment. Having a safe, multimodal travel network is a priority outcome for city council; with a work plan objective to construct a grade-separated interchange at 120th Avenue and U.S. 85 by December 31, 2022.
The city’s approved five-year Capital Improvement & Preservation Program currently includes $7.0M in funding in 2022 to be allocated towards the construction of the U.S. 85/120th Avenue interchange. The estimated cost of the U.S. 85/120th Avenue interchange is approximately $76.24 million, with $17 million being contributed collectively by Adams County, Commerce City, and Brighton. Given CDOT is in the environmental and design process, CDOT has indicated construction could begin as early as 2020 if a design-build option was pursued.
Staff responsible: Director of External Affairs | Interim Director of Public Works Halstead
Staff presenting: Director of External Affairs | Interim Director of Public Works Halstead
Funding impact: $7M
Source: 2K
Staff recommends approving the resolution as presented