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C. 2

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	Brian M. Balbas, Public Works Director/Chief Engineer
Date:	April 28, 2020

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

FY 2020/2021 Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account Project List for Unincorporated Contra Costa County.

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 04/28/2020

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:

Nancy Wein, 925.313.2275

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: April 28, 2020
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

ADOPT Resolution No. 2020/121 approving a list of projects for Fiscal Year 2020/21 funded by Senate Bill 1 (SB1): The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account funds, and DIRECT staff to submit the list to the California Transportation Commission. (All Districts)

FISCAL IMPACT:

100% allocation to the Road Fund from Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account program under Senate Bill 1 (SB1) in the approximate amount of $16.4 million.

BACKGROUND:

California cities and counties are seeing a significant influx of new revenue to invest in the local street and road system from Senate Bill 1 (Beall and Frazier), a landmark transportation funding package that was signed by Governor Brown on April 28, 2017. This measure was in response to California’s significant funding shortfall to maintain the state’s multimodal transportation network.

BACKGROUND: (CONT'D)

SB1 increased several taxes and fees to raise over $5 billion annually in new transportation revenues. SB1 also includes inflationary adjustments in the revenue to local agencies so that the purchasing power of the funds does not decrease as it has in the past. SB1 prioritizes funding towards maintenance, rehabilitation and safety improvements on state highways, local streets and roads, and bridges and to improve the state’s trade corridors, transit, and active transportation facilities.

SB1 Funds were available to cities and counties starting in FY 2017/2018 and are comprised of two parts - an increase in the annual gas tax revenue that local agencies have historically been receiving and a new funding source called Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA) program funds. The California State Association of Counties (CSAC) annually provides an estimate of the total gas tax revenues the County can expect to see from transportation bill, including the total estimated revenue from RMRA program funds. CSAC estimates the County will receive about $41.7 million in total transportation funding for FY 20/21 from SB1, approximately double what the County received just a few years ago. About $16.4 million of that amount is from the RMRA program. This amount will continue to grow in future years with the built-in inflationary index.

SB1 emphasizes the importance of accountability and transparency in the delivery of California’s transportation programs. Therefore, in order to be eligible for RMRA funding, state statute requires cities and counties to provide basic RMRA project reporting to the California Transportation Commission (CTC).

Prior to receiving an apportionment of RMRA funds from the State Controller in a fiscal year, a city or county must submit to the CTC a list of projects proposed to be funded with these funds. All projects proposed to receive funding must be reviewed and approved by the applicable city council or county board of supervisors at a public meeting.

The list of projects must include a description and location of each proposed project, a proposed schedule for the project’s completion, and the estimated useful life of the improvement. The project list does not limit the flexibility of an eligible city or county to fund projects in accordance with local needs and priorities so long as the projects are consistent with RMRA priorities as outlined in the applicable code sections. Some example projects and uses for RMRA funding include, but are not limited to the following:

Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation
Safety Projects
Railroad Grade Separations
Complete Streets Components (including active transportation purposes, pedestrian and bicycle safety projects, transit facilities, and drainage and stormwater capture projects in conjunction with any other allowable project)
Traffic Control Devices

Streets and Highways Code Section 2030(b)(2) states that funds made available by the program may also be used to satisfy a match requirement in order to obtain state or federal funds for projects authorized by this subdivision.

Staff has developed a recommended list of projects the Board of Supervisors to consider for submitting to CTC.

The following criteria will be used by staff when developing the current and future project lists for RMRA funds:

Eligibility criteria for RMRA funds
Emergency storm damage projects that exceeded existing road fund revenue capacity
Maintenance and rehabilitation priorities
Roadway safety
Expiring grants where local funds are necessary to complete the funding package
Geographic equity
Projects where expenditures had already occurred for design of the project and had been shelved due to declining gas tax revenues
Multi-modal benefits in accordance with the Board of Supervisor’s Complete Streets policy
Positive impact to Road Program performance metrics
Clearing the queue of delayed projects that were a result of declining gas tax revenues
Meeting customer expectations

With the passage of SB1, the County will now receive about $41.7 million in total transportation funding in FY 20/21, with approximately $16.4 million of that amount from the RMRA program. The County currently uses the majority of the Gas Tax funds towards public roadway maintenance and repair for approximately 660 miles of the roadway network in the unincorporated areas of Contra Costa County to ensure a safe and convenient public travel in a variety of modes: driving, walking and bicycling. These funds are also used to improve traffic safety throughout the County by using it as the local match to leverage funds from state and federal grant programs.

The majority of the RMRA funds are designated for maintenance activities but the range of proposed projects in future years is expected to broaden as the amount of RMRA funds increases. It should be noted that project list below is a small subset of projects in overall road program and only focuses on how the RMRA funds will be expended as required by the Commission.

PROPOSED PROJECTS (Total RMRA = $16.4 million)

Proposed Project No. 1: Road Drainage Maintenance (RMRA = $1.2 million)- Countywide

Ditch Cleaning – This routine maintenance item is to perform drainage ditch cleaning to remove debris and vegetation which may obstruct the passage of stormwater and cause local flooding. (RMRA = $400,000) County Project No.: 0672-6U2303

Clean Catch Basin – This routine maintenance item is to perform cleaning of sediment and prevent obstructions of catch basins (drainage inlets) and related pipe systems. The County has over twenty thousand catch basins throughout the unincorporated portions of the County. (RMRA = $500,000) County Project No.: 0672-6U2308

Inspect Catch Basin – This routine maintenance item is to perform inspections of catch basins and associated systems. This includes a visual inspection of the drainage inlet and any clean water inserts. Follow-up video inspections may be required for deeper inlets and/or suspected structural issue concerning the inlets. (RMRA = $300,000) County Project No.: 0672-6U2316

Proposed Project No.2: Traffic Safety Devices Maintenance (RMRA = $950,000) - Countywide

Traffic Signing – This routine maintenance item is to perform sign repair, replacement, and installation along the unincorporated County roadways. (RMRA = $450,000) County Project No.: 0672-6U2504

Traffic Striping – This routine maintenance item is to perform new painting, routine painting and replacement of pavement striping along the unincorporated County roadways to enhance public safety. (RMRA = $500,000) County Project No.: 0672-6U2505

Proposed Project No. 3: Pavement Repairs and Preparation (RMRA = $4.2 million)- Countywide

Pot Hole Patching – This routine maintenance item is to perform spot pavement repairs of pot holes along the unincorporated County roadways to eliminate surface hazards. (RMRA = $500,000) County Project No.: 0672-6U2101

Pavement Fabric Patching – This routine maintenance item is to perform pavement fabric patching along the unincorporated County roadways to correct minor pavement defects and prevent further cracking. An area of existing damaged asphalt will be removed and excavated to allow a fabric patch to be placed. The roadway base will be compacted and leveled to support the new fabric layer and asphalt layer. (RMRA = $500,000) County Project No.: 0672-6U2102

Pavement Failure Repair - Backhoe – This routine maintenance item is to conduct pavement failure repair along the unincorporated County roadways. This task requires the removal of a larger area of cracked or damaged pavement with a backhoe. The roadway base will be compacted and overlaid with new asphalt. (RMRA = $500,000) County Project No.: 0672-6U2103

Pull Box Paving – This is a roadway paving operation to place asphalt on localized roadway depressions to provide a smooth riding surface for the motorized public along the unincorporated County roadways. (RMRA = $525,000) County Project No.: 0672-6U2104

Hand Patching – This is similar to pot hole patching to conduct spot pavement repairs along unincorporated County roadway, but on a smaller scale. (RMRA = $500,000) County Project No.: 0672-6U2105

Crack Sealing – This pavement preservation task is to seal cracks in the roadway. Cracks are typically filled in to seal the roadway structural section from water penetration. The goal is to prolong the service life of the pavement and/or prepare the roadway surface for an overlay. (RMRA = $600,000) County Project No.: 0672-6U2106

Leveling – This task is associated with leveling of large settlements, depressions, surface irregularities and recent large pavement repairs. This is to provide a smooth riding surface for the motorized public along unincorporated County roadways. (RMRA = $475,000) County Project No.: 0672-6U2107

Pavement Failure Repair – Grinder – This task is to remove badly cracked or broken pavement. The roadway is then replaced with new asphalt and roadway base rock. This task supports pavement preservation operations and also extends the service life of the roadway pavement. (RMRA = $600,000) County Project No.: 0672-6U2123

Proposed Project No. 4: County-Wide Surface Treatments (RMRA = $6.9 million)

Countywide:

Double Chip Seal Project (2019) – This project will apply a double chip seal to various roads as a pavement preservation project in the unincorporated Contra Costa County. Locations will include Orinda (Bear Creek Road), Franklin Canyon, Knightsen/Brentwood, Bryon and San Ramon areas. Work will also include surface preparation and pavement striping and markings. (RMRA = $2.200,000) County Project No. 0672-6U2182

Asphalt Rubber Cape Seal Project - The project will apply an asphalt rubber chip seal covered with a type II slurry seal to various roadways in the El Sobrante, North Richmond, and Alamo areas. Work will also include surface preparation and pavement striping and markings. (RMRA = $4,750,000) County Project No. 0672-6U2184

Proposed Project No. 5: Kirker Pass Road Northbound Truck Lanes ($3.1 million)

The project consists of pavement widening for a truck climbing lane with 8 foot paved shoulders; relocation of HMA dike, concrete ditches, and other drainage features; retaining wall construction; installation of signage and striping; construction of two C.3 bioretention areas; relocation of existing roadside features, and pavement rehabilitation on Kirker Pass Road which consists of 0.1 feet grind and overlay of open grade rubberized hot mix asphalt (HMA). There are significant roadway conforms at Hess Road due to change in grade. (RMRA = $3,100,000) County Project No. 0662-6R4052

With the annual reporting requirement, the Department will begin strategizing how the County can allocate the new funding to achieve the Road Program’s mission and improve the program’s key performance metrics for safety, efficiency, reliability and accessibility.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

If a project list is not approved by the Board of Supervisors and submitted to the CTC by the May 1, 2020 deadline, the County will not be eligible to receive its portion of RMRA funds and the projects listed above will not be constructed.