Memorandum
City of Lawrence
Public Works
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TO: |
David L. Corliss, City Manager Diane Stoddard, Asst. City Manager |
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FROM: |
Shoeb Uddin, City Engineer |
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CC: |
Chuck Soules, Public Works Director Britt Crum-Cano, Economic Development Coordinator/Planner |
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DATE: |
August 31, 2011 |
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RE: |
TIGER III Federal Grant Application Bob Billings Parkway and K-10 Interchange |
Introduction
Recently, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that $527 million will be available to continue the TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) Grant Program for the third round (termed as TIGER III). The first round of TIGER Grant began under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. The second round (commonly known as TIGER II) of this grant program came around in 2010.
TIGER is a competitive grant program for construction of large scale transportation projects that create jobs and would have a significant impact on the nation, a region or a metropolitan area. According to the US Department of Transportation, projects for TIGER III will be selected based on their ability to contribute to the long-term economic competitiveness of the nation, improve the condition of existing transportation infrastructure, improve energy efficiency, improve transportation safety and improve livability of communities through increased transportation choices.
Project Summary
The proposed interchange at K-10 and Bob Billings Parkway will eliminate the current at-grade intersection by constructing a bridge over K-10, extending Bob Billings Parkway to this bridge and re-aligning the County Road E 1500 (See attached Concept Sketch). When completed, BBP and County Road E 1500 will be connected via the bridge over K-10; as a result, east-west traffic on BBP and E 1500 will move safely without having to negotiate the high speed traffic on K-10. There will be on and off ramps similar to the existing interchange at K-10 and US -40/West 6th Street enabling safe transition and movement in all four directions. The project would also include decorative lighting, bike lanes and sidewalks connecting with the existing bike lanes and sidewalks on BBP, continuing over the bridge/interchange and to the west past K-10.
The areas west of K-10 are prime locations for new residential, commercial and industrial development. In the “West of K-10 Area Plan” approved by both the City and County commissions, this interchange was identified as a critical infrastructure in order to accommodate westward growth in Lawrence/Douglas County. The projected growth and development in the area west of K-10 will add new jobs to the region’s economy in the long term; in the short term, this project will create a good number of high paying construction jobs.
In addition to the positive economic impact, this project will also reduce congestion at the existing interchange at K-10 and US-40. By attracting a lot of the KU traffic, this project will generally help reduce congestion on 6th Street and Iowa Street as well. Reduced congestion means reduced green house gas emissions and higher energy efficiency. With improved connectivity, this project will further contribute to improved energy efficiency by reducing travel time.
Due to high speed, fatality rates on freeways are much higher. As a result, safety is of prime concern at the existing at-grade intersection of K-10 and Bob Billings Parkway. Without the interchange, the growth potential of the area west of K-10 will remain unrealized as the existing at-grade intersection is not capable of handling the increased traffic in a safe manner. The proposed interchange would tremendously contribute to increased livability in Lawrence by improving traffic flow and safety along this corridor. The addition of bike lanes and sidewalk will further improve livability of our community by providing alternative modes/choices of transportation, an important goal of the TIGER III grant program.
Collaboration with Stakeholders (KDOT and Douglas County and KU)
The selection criteria for TIGER III grants include collaboration and partnership among stake holders. City staff had very positive discussions with KDOT regarding Joint Application for TIGER III grant for the interchange at K-10 and BBP. KDOT would be the lead applicant (as they are contributing $10 million for construction and providing all engineering and other professional services in-house), in partnership with the City of Lawrence and Douglas County as the secondary applicants. City staff has requested KDOT for letters of support from Secretary Miller and Governor Brownback.
KDOT staff has suggested a modest contribution (approximately $100,000 each) from the City and the County as a way to express city/county commitment to the project. A stronger commitment from the City and County would increase our chances of winning the grant award.
We have discussed this project with the Douglas county officials. At this point, we do not have any financial commitment ($100,000.00) from the county. We will be contacting KU for a letter of support as well. The interchange is of major interest to KU as this is considered as the future Gateway to KU. In the near future, we will be contacting Lawrence Chamber of Commerce, Lawrence Douglas County MPO and various other stakeholders for letters of support.
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Project Cost / Funding |
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Total Construction Cost $18 million |
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Engineering Design (in house by KDOT engineers) $1.0 million |
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Right of Way / Property Acquisition $1.0 million |
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Total Project Cost $20.0 million |
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TIGER III $10 million |
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City and County $200,000.00 |
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KDOT $9.8 million |
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The minimum amount of TIGER III grant is $10 million with a minimum local match of 20% or $2.5 million, for a total minimum construction cost of $12.5 million.
The estimated cost for adding bike lanes, sidewalks and decorative lighting to this project is $1.0 million (included in the $18.0 million for construction). Based on our recent conversation with KDOT, (if the TIGER III grant application for this project is not successful), the City and the County will have to pay for the cost of bike lanes, sidewalks and decorative lighting. Otherwise, (due to lack of funding) KDOT may consider eliminating these features from the project.
Staff Recommendation
One of the important requirements for TIGER grants is the “Project Readiness”. For TIGER III, it has to be demonstrated that the project would be ready for construction in 2014. The engineering design of this project, being performed in-house by KDOT engineers, is about 50% complete. Property acquisition and Environmental review, also handled by KDOT staff, are well underway. Based on our conversation with KDOT, this project is on schedule to be ready for construction in 2014.
From past history/experience, the competition for the TIGER grant is intense. For all the reasons outlined in this memo, staff believes that the interchange at K-10 Highway and Bob Billings Parkway (BBP) would be a very worthy project and strongly recommends submitting the TIGER III Grant Application for this project.
Application deadline for the TIGER III is October 31, 2011. It is anticipated that the Grant Award will be made public by the end of 2011.
If awarded the TIGER III grant, construction of this project will begin in late 2013 /early 2014 with anticipated completion in 2015.
Action Requests
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