DATE: January 7, 2020
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: Reclassification of Lincoln Avenue
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Adopt Resolution approving submittal of a Functional Classification Change for a segment of Lincoln Avenue from Elm Avenue to State Route 145 (15 miles) to the State of California, Department of Transportation.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will allow the Department of Public Works and Planning to submit a Functional Classification Change for local streets and roads to the State of California, Department of Transportation (Caltrans) for a segment of Lincoln Avenue from Elm Avenue to State Route (SR) 145 (15 miles) from a minor collector to a major collector, making it eligible to receive Federal grant funding for rehabilitation. This item pertains to a location in District 1.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If your Board does not approve the request, the application to receive grant funding to reconstruct the segment of Lincoln Avenue will be rescinded, as the road will not qualify to receive Federal funds.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. Approval of the reclassification by your Board, Caltrans, and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) would allow the road segment to be eligible for Federal funds for repair or rehabilitation. Currently, a project is planned and an application has been submitted for Federal funding to rehabilitate eight miles of Lincoln Avenue (from the Grantland Alignment to SR 145) at an estimated cost of $6,900,000. The application requests Federal Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) funding of $3,895,320 and Federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Lifeline funding of $2,213,250. If the application is approved, the local match of $791,430 would be paid out of the Department’s Senate Bill 1: Road Maintenance Rehabilitation Account (RMRA). Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in the Department’s Roads Org 4510 Adopted Budget.
The other seven miles of Lincoln Avenue (from Elm to the Grantland Alignment) would also be eligible to receive Federal funds for repair or rehabilitation should such project(s) be planned.
DISCUSSION:
On December 6, 2019, the Department submitted an application for competitive STBG funding to the Fresno Council of Governments (FCOG). The scope of the project is to reconstruct Lincoln Avenue from SR 145 to the Grantland Alignment using an innovative on-site Cold Central Plant Recycling (CCPR) technique. CCPR involves grinding off the old pavement, crushing it and mixing it at a central plant on the project site. The recycled asphalt mix is then transported back to the road, paved and compacted. Use of this recycled material greatly reduces the carbon footprint of the project. Greenhouse gas emissions are reduced since less truck traffic is generated compared to a traditional reconstruction which would require hauling off old material and delivering new material. Because the project is construction ready and has a good cost-benefit ratio, it may be awarded Federal funds when applications are scored on January 23, 2020. However, in order for the project to be eligible to receive such funds, the road classification must be changed from a minor collector to a major collector prior to application review.
Generally, Major Collector routes are longer in length, have lower connecting driveway densities, have higher speed limits, are spaced at greater intervals, have higher annual average traffic volumes, and may have more travel lanes than their Minor Collector counterparts. Higher traffic volumes on the identified segment of Lincoln Avenue, along with connectivity to the community of Easton on the east and SR 145 to west, justify the road classification change.
OTHER REVIEWING AGENCIES:
Upon your Board’s adoption of the resolution, the classification change will be submitted to FCOG, Caltrans and FHWA for concurrence and approval.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #41, November 5, 2019
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with the Clerk - Resolution with Exhibits A and B
CAO ANALYST:
Sonia M. De La Rosa