DATE: May 20, 2025
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: BUILD Federal Grant Application, Authority to Apply for Funding for the Millerton Road Widening and Safety Improvements
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Retroactively authorize the Department of Public Works and Planning’s previous submittal of a grant application in the amount of $25,000,000 to the United States Department of Transportation for the FY 2024 Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development Transportation Discretionary Grants Program to fund improvements to the intersection of Millerton Road and Marina Drive/Winchell Cove Road in the community of Friant.
REPORT
On January 30, 2025, the Director of the Department of Public Works and Planning submitted a competitive grant application for United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) discretionary grant funds through the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program, contingent on your Board’s approval. The grant would fund the widening of a 3.2-mile stretch of Millerton Road from North Fork Road, to the intersection of Millerton Road and Marina Drive/Winchell Cove Road from a two-lane rural roadway to a four-lane divided arterial roadway. The project also consists of constructing two roundabouts at the intersections of Millerton Road and Marina Drive/Winchell Cove Road and at Millerton Road and Morningside Drive. Additional striping for bicycle lanes and left-turn pockets would be included in the project. This item pertains to a location in District 5.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If the recommended action is not approved, the Department will withdraw from the grant application process.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase to Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. If the grant application is successful, no local match will be required for the $25,000,000 in Federal funding. If a grant award is awarded, the Department will return to your Board to accept the grant funds and with any necessary resolutions. Awards are anticipated in June 2025.
DISCUSSION:
The Millerton Road Widening project is a programmed Regional Surface Transportation Program project, adopted by the Fresno Council of Governments, and has been included in several long-term plans. The project area is located in the Sierra Nevada foothills, near Friant Dam and the Millerton Lake reservoir. Beginning in the unincorporated community of Friant, the project extends into unincorporated Fresno County that borders the tribal land of Table Mountain Rancheria (TMR), the Chukchansi band of Yokut and Monache tribes of Indigenous Americans. Millerton Road serves as access to Millerton Lake State Park, Table Mountain Casino Resort, and several housing developments. The four-lane roadway would accommodate existing and projected traffic demands, as well as improve safety. TMR is a supporter of the project along with the Fresno Cycling Club and members of the community who have provided letters expressing their support.
The BUILD grant, previously known as the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program, provides for investments in surface transportation infrastructure awarded on a competitive basis for projects that will have a significant local or regional impact. BUILD funding can support roads, bridges, transit, rail, ports, or intermodal transportation projects. Projects are 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.
Federal grant application processes are highly competitive and successful applications are not guaranteed. The Department has not been successful in obtaining the TIGER grant in past application cycles or the Federal Lands Access Program Grant but continues to pursue grant funding for this project. Department staff obtained feedback from the TIGER grant review staff and have strengthened areas identified in the previous application that needed improvement. In addition, the funding criteria for the BUILD grant are more favorable toward rural projects than the TIGER grant.
The opportunity to apply for Federal grant funding through the BUILD program expired on January 30, 2025. Due to this submission deadline, the Department is requesting the Board retroactively approve submission of the application for the BUILD grant to assist in funding for the project.
The Department has been awarded $2,957,602 in Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funding. This will fund the construction of a roundabout at Millerton and Marina Drive/Winchell Cove Road, which will reduce vehicles speeds by forcing vehicles to slow down to travel through the roundabout and minimize the number of collisions.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #56, January 28, 2025
BAI #59, September 25, 2018
BAI #50, November 14, 2017
BAI #37, May 2, 2017
BAI #54, September 13, 2016
BAI #46, June 2, 2015
BAI #12, May 20, 2014
BAI #12, May 20, 2008
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Location Map
On file with Clerk - BUILD Grant Application
CAO ANALYST:
Maria Valencia