DATE: May 17, 2022
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: Agreement with Fresno County Transportation Authority for the Golden State, Boulevard - American Avenue to Tulare County Line
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute an Agreement with the Fresno County Transportation Authority to administer the construction phase of the Golden State Boulevard - American Avenue to Tulare County Line Transportation Improvement Project ($47,252,000) effective retroactively to May 1, 2021.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action allow the Department to bid, award, and provide construction management services for the project. This item pertains to a location in District 4.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If your Board does not approve the recommended action the project will be delayed and the Fresno County Transportation Authority (FCTA) will need to seek alternative methods of administering the construction phase of the project.
RETROACTIVE AGREEMENT
The Agreement is retroactive to May 1, 2021 to allow the County to be compensated for staff time to prepare funding agreements and allocation requests for the project, and review plans for constructability.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The recommended agreement will compensate the County for all project costs incurred to administer the project, including bidding, payments to the awarded contractor, construction management, and final close-out. $7,262,000 in funds will be provided by Caltrans’ Local Partnership Program (LPP), while $47,252,000 will be reimbursed by FCTA with Measure “C” funds.
DISCUSSION:
This Golden State Corridor project, which has been planned for over 20 years, is located on Golden State Boulevard, a 14.1 mile stretch of historic Highway 99, generally from American Avenue in Fresno County to Mission Street in the City of Kingsburg. The project area will pass through the cities of Fowler, Selma, and Kingsburg, as well as some unincorporated areas of Fresno County, but within the sphere of influence of one of the three cities. The improvements will include pavement rehabilitation, intersection signalization and channelization, fifty thousand square feet of sidewalks, crosswalks and median improvements including 90 ADA ramps, street lighting, drainage facilities, bicycle lanes, including upgrading 13.6 miles to buffered bike lanes, landscaping, and provisions for connectivity to potential future active transportation projects.
On August 26, 2014, the Board approved a cooperative revenue agreement with FCTA, the Fresno Council of Governments (FCOG), and the cities of Selma, Fowler, and Kingsburg for the project. The agreement established roles and responsibilities for each party: FCOG would manage the design phase, with an engineering consultant, FCTA would provide the funding, and all agencies would actively participate in the project’s development, through regular project meetings. The cooperative agreement indicated that another consultant firm would be hired by FCTA to handle the construction management. However, in 2020, discussions with FCTA and County staff made it apparent that the County had the capability to effectively manage the construction phase. On September 1, 2020, your Board provided direction to the Public Works and Planning Department to prepare an agreement with FCTA to manage the construction phase of the project.
The County staff have already been working closely with FCOG, the consultant, and Caltrans to manage the project’s LPP allocation from the state, as well as to phase the project’s construction to accommodate delays in getting agreements with Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The LPP requires that the County allocate the $7,262,000 million in state construction funds by June 30, 2022, and award the project prior to December 30, 2022. In order to not lose this funding, the project is being split into two phases. Phase 1 of the Construction project will reconstruct the road throughout the project limits, while avoiding any intersection work that requires an agreement with UPRR. Phase 2 of the project, the intersection work, will be advertised upon execution of various agreements and permits between UPRR, CPUC and the cities.
Plans and Specifications were prepared by FCOG’s consultant, Mark Thomas, and Associates. The Department will return to your Board in the next few months to award Phase 1 of the project.
OTHER REVIEWING AGENCIES:
FCTA authorized the FCTA Chairman to execute the agreement at their April 13, 2022, meeting, contingent upon your Board’s approval.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #8, September 1, 2020
BAI #39, August 26, 2014
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Location Map
On file with Clerk - Agreement with Fresno County Transportation Authority
CAO ANALYST:
Ron Alexander