From
Anda Upchurch
Title
Authorize the City Manager to submit a formal response to the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) to reaffirm support for the Railroad Advance Preemption Project
Presenter
Sholeh Karimi, P.E., Senior Traffic Engineer
Recommended Action
Approve
Analysis
In June 2015, the Regional Transportation Council (RTC) approved the implementation of a Project Milestone Policy, which is intended to review projects that were funded ten (10) or more years ago in which construction has not started. Projects will be cancelled if they are no longer priority projects, or they can be re-approved if sufficient documentation is provided that demonstrates the agency's support of the project (both financially and in terms of timely project delivery). The anticipated outcomes of the RTC Project Milestone Policy include possibly increasing the amount of available funds for priority projects, providing a realistic assessment of the project status for funding decision-making, and balancing project construction schedules within the current financial constraints appropriately.
The RTC has included a railroad advance preemption project on the list of projects that are ten years or older that will be cancelled if City does not produce a realistic schedule, confirmation of local match, and confirmation of the City’s continuing desire to implement the project.
The Transportation Department submitted a request for funding to the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) for improvements at each Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) mainline railroad crossing which would allow this track to be designated as a quiet zone.
NCTCOG selected the project for funding in 2004 in the total amount of $1,140,000, of which 80% or $912,000 federally funded and 20% or $228,000 locally funded.
We were able to implement the Quiet Zone because of other improvements, such as medians, signing, railroad crossing enforcement, etc. Staff proposed to use the funds for railroad advance preemption which would update the current antiquated system and make the crossings much safer. The agreement took several years to execute after the RTC had originally awarded the funding to the City.
On October 15th, 2013, the City Council approved a resolution authorizing the City Manager to enter into a Local Advance Funding Agreement (LPAFA) with the State for railroad advance preemption.
To the extents possible, the City has been actively coordinating with the State and Union Pacific Railroad to advance the project, but the project has encountered extraordinary delays due to Union Pacific Railroad design and Advanced Preemption implementation cost and schedule.
The project will need to be reapproved, or it will be cancelled by RTC through the 2017-2020 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Development effort.
In order to maintain funding on this project, the RTC has requested a specific response that affirms the interest of the City of Grand Prairie for preserving funding on this project led by City Council Action in Support of the Railroad Advance Preemption project.
It is recommended that the City Council reaffirm their support of the project by authorizing the City Manager sign a formal response to NCTCOG prior to Monday, November 30, 2015 in order to avoid cancellation of the project through their 2017-2020 TIP development effort.
Financial Consideration
There is no financial consideration stemming from this action.