City Council
MEETING DATE: 2/24/2016
TITLE:
Title
Freeway Agreement with the State Department of Transportation Regarding Interstate Highway 10.
End
FROM:
John A. Corella, P.E. - City Engineer
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends the City Council approve the Freeway Agreement with the California State Department of Transportation, and authorize its execution on behalf of the City by the City Manager and City Clerk.
Body
BACKGROUND:
The Freeway Agreement (Agreement) is a California Department of Transportation (Cal Trans) document used to confirm the cooperation of abutting and/or overlapping jurisdictions. In this case, approximately seven (7) miles of the Cal Trans Interstate Highway 10 (I-10) right-of-way is entirely within and/or abutting the City of Cathedral City's (City) City Limits.
As further background, in November, 1981, when the City incorporated, the northerly City boundary followed the south side of I-10 and did not include any part of I-10. In 1983, the City’s first annexation incorporated land that included about 1.2 miles of Interstate 10, easterly of Date Palm Drive. Another annexation in 1988 north of the freeway, incorporated another 1.2 miles of freeway, west of Date Palm, and in 2007, the Varner Road annexation incorporated land that included more than 2 miles of the freeway, west to the Palm Drive Interchange. Finally, in 2015, the recent the "Messenger" annexation took in land that included the west-bound side of the freeway, east to Bob Hope Drive, and a portion of the Bob Hope Interchange.
Prior to these annexations, these portions of the freeway were covered by a separate Agreement between Cal Trans and the County of Riverside.
Caltrans has requested that a new updated Agreement between Cal Trans and the City be executed, covering the freeway between Palm Drive and the recently added areas up to Bob Hope Drive.
DISCUSSION:
A copy of the proposed Agreement is attached. This is a standard form Agreement, which generally states that the City and the State will cooperate in all matters related to the freeway, for the benefit of the people of the State (Cal Trans) and of the City. The Agreement states that future projects or changes to the freeway, which involve City streets or facilities, will be covered by "separate" Cooperative Agreements, which will cover items, such as, as funding, rights-of-way and maintenance.
This Agreement will also supersede the existing Agreements with the County covering the portions of the freeway now within Cathedral City.
Upon execution of this Agreement, the State and the City will then work on the preparation of a "Freeway Maintenance Agreement", which will describe in more detail the duties of the State and the City as they pertain to the freeway, maintenance of the bridges, drainage, payment for lighting and utilities, operation of traffic signals and related subjects. Once the Freeway Maintenance Agreement is ready, it too will be brought back to City Council at a future date for approval.
Staff recommends that Council approve the Freeway Agreement, and authorize its execution on behalf of the City by the City Manager and the City Clerk.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no direct financial impact as a result of the approval of this Agreement. The future Freeway Maintenance Agreement to be approved at a later date, will contain provisions for cost sharing with the State on certain maintenance items.
ATTACHMENTS:
Draft Freeway Maintenance Agreement, with Exhibit A, showing limits of the Freeway Agreement.