Title
Approval to Submit an Application and Authorize the County Manager to Enter into a Cooperative Project Agreement with the New Mexico Department of Transportation for Highway Safety Improvement Program Funds for the Design and Construction of Trinity Drive Safety Improvements from Oppenheimer Drive to 15th Street.
Recommended Motion
I move that Council Approve the Submittal of an Application and Authorize the County Manager to Enter into a Cooperative Project Agreement with the New Mexico Department of Transportation for Highway Safety Improvement Program Funds for the Design and Construction of Trinity Drive Safety Improvements.
Manager's Recommendation
The County Manager recommends that Council approve the motion as presented.
Body
On February 2016, a Road Safety Audit (RSA) was completed for Trinity Drive between Oppenheimer Drive and 15th Street by the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) in cooperation with Los Alamos County as part of the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP). The RSA recommended various countermeasures for improving safety within this section of Trinity Drive. These countermeasures include median installation for traffic channelization and managed access as well as ADA, pedestrian, bicycle, transit and motorist safety improvements such as curb ramps, sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, LED roadway and pedestrian lighting, bike lanes and bus pullouts.
The RSA also recommended further study for signalization of the Trinity/20th Street Intersection which would provide additional pedestrian crossing opportunities particularly with the forthcoming development of the Canyon Rim Trail and Urban Trail-recently approved for funding under separate federal programs. Subsequently in 2018, the County completed a signal warrant analysis that concluded a traffic signal would be required upon commercial development of vacant land along 20th Street south of Trinity Drive. This analysis also included a speed study detailing that vehicular operating speeds are approximately 43 MPH, in excess of the 35 MPH posted speed. The proposed improvements are expected to aid in reducing vehicular operating speeds.
Over the last several years, the HSIP was underfunded with a large backlog of projects and the County’s annual requests for funding consideration were not successful. However, on August 23, 2019, NMDOT’s Safety Committee met to review safety projects from around the state and consider the programming of HSIP funds as part of their Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). The County was invited to present, discuss and respond to questions regarding the proposed project. The following is a list of supporting documents and plans presented to the committee demonstrating support of the project:
Northern Pueblos Regional Transportation Planning Organization, Regional Transportation Improvement Program Priority #1 Project - Safety Category
FY 2020 Council Strategic Leadership Plan
2017 Bicycle Transportation Plan
2016 Los Alamos County Comprehensive Plan
2012 Downtown Sidewalk & Streetscape Assessment
2010 County Resolution 10-32-Design Policy for Complete Streets
1998 Pedestrian Transportation Plan
NMDOT ADA Transition Plan
The project is also listed in the FY 2021-2025 County Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan. Subsequently, the Safety Committee approved the programming of funding for the project in the amount of $840,000 in Federal Fiscal Years (FFY) 2021 and 2022 for design and right-of-way services and $3,410,000 in FFY 2023 for project construction, for a total of $4,250,000 in HSIP funds.
Upon award, NMDOT will require execution of a cooperative project agreement. Council’s formal approval of this longstanding request will allow the County Manager to execute a cooperative agreement to develop and implement the project. County Engineering staff will manage development of the project.
Alternatives
Failure to support the project will result in the County being ineligible to receive HSIP funds for the project.
Fiscal and Staff Impact/Planned Item
NMDOT provides state matching funds for HSIP projects and requires no local match. It is a reimbursable grant program, which will require the County to have the funding available upfront to enter into the design and construction contracts and then submit requests for reimbursement of allowable expenses
Staff will return to Council with a Budget Revision to establish the formal project budget.
Attachments
A - Grant Analysis and Financial Matrix Form