City Council
MEETING DATE: 5/25/2016
TITLE:
Title
Freeway Maintenance Agreement with the California State Department of Transportation (Cal Trans) for Interstate Highway 10 Interchanges within the City Limits
End
FROM:
John A. Corella, P.E. - City Engineer
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council open this item for a public hearing, approve the Freeway Maintenance Agreement (FMA) with the California State Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and authorize the Mayor and the City Manager to execute the FMA.
Body
BACKGROUND:
When Cathedral City was incorporated in 1981, East Palm Canyon Drive was State Highway 111 and the City and the State executed a maintenance agreement which delineated the maintenance responsibilities of each party on Highway 111. Interstate 10, at that time, was covered by several FMA’s between the County of Riverside and the Caltrans.
As annexations occurred in later years, portions of Interstate Highway 10 (I-10) were added to the maintenance agreement, including all of the Date Palm interchange and a portion of the Palm Drive interchange. Highway 111 eventually was relinquished to the City, but with annexations, the amount of I -10 added to the maintenance agreements increased. Finally with the most recent North City Extended Specific Plan Annexation of the Bob Hope - Varner Road area, a portion of the Bob Hope interchange was added to the maintenance agreement. This last annexation prompted Caltrans to request that a new, comprehensive Freeway Maintenance Agreement be prepared and executed to replace the earlier now outdated versions and to remove Riverside County from those areas annexed into the City.
As a prelude to consideration of this new FMA, a Freeway Agreement was approved by Council last February which outlined general cooperation parameters between the City and Caltrans related to freeway matters.
DISCUSSION:
Caltrans and City Staffs have worked out a new FMA, which is attached. The Recitals of the Agreement list the prior agreements to be replaced, cite the annexation history, and explain the need to replace, update and supersede the previous FMA’s.
Exhibit A shows the limits of the Agreement on I-10, from Palm Drive to Bob Hope Drive,
Exhibit B is blank at the State’s request. Exhibit C shows the Palm Drive, Date Palm, and Bob Hope interchanges, and depicts special features at each which will be the City’s maintenance responsibilities. Essentially, the City will maintain the driving surface of the interchange bridges, bridge railings, and some of the aesthetic features on the bridges on those portions with our City limits only. Note that the Agreement covers the special decorative metal railings and screens on the Bob Hope bridge. When the Bob Hope-Varner Road area was annexed, the County and the City executed a special agreement in which the County agreed to continue to maintain these railings and screens in accordance with a separate agreement between the County and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, which originally provided funds for the construction of those features.
The Agreement also outlines the division of maintenance for the traffic signals and street lighting on the bridges, and ramps within our City limits. The State controls the traffic signal timing and maintenance of the signals and street lights, and the City pays the energy charges. There is a separate Utility Cost Sharing Agreement with the State which also requires updating, which details which signals and lights the City pays for. This agreement will be revised and updated next after approval of this new FMA.
The insurance provisions of the FMA require that the City provide evidence of self-insurance to the State, which the Finance Department said will be no problem.
It should be pointed out that none of the maintenance responsibilities outlined in this FMA are new or different. The City has been performing these maintenance duties for some time, as the annexations took place. This new Agreement will consolidate all of the previous agreements and duties from the older agreements into one comprehensive new Agreement.
The State Streets and Highways Code authorizes such agreements between the Caltrans and local agencies, and requires that their consideration or approval be conducted with public input and oversight. Therefore this item has been set as a public hearing.
Staff recommends that the City Council open this item for a public hearing, approve the FMA with Caltrans and authorize the Mayor and the City Manager to execute the FMA on behalf of the City.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no new fiscal impact as a result of the approval of this FMA. The maintenance duties outlined in the FMA have been ongoing and are already included in the present Public Works maintenance budget.
ATTACHMENTS:
Draft Freeway Maintenance Agreement with Exhibits A, B (blank) and C.