REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: SCOTT L. MOZIER, PE, Director Public Works Department BY: RANDALL W. MORRISON, PE, Assistant Director Public Works Department, Engineering Division JESUS AVITIA, PE, Deputy City Engineer/Special Projects Program Manager Public Works Department, Special Projects Section SUBJECT ..Title Approve a Preliminary Engineering Services Agreement with BNSF Railway Company to perform engineered design plan review and diagnostic evaluation, in the amount of $199,561.20, for the Blackstone Avenue and McKinley Avenue BNSF Grade Separation Project (Council Districts 1 and 7) ..Body RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the City Council approve a Preliminary Engineering Services Agreement (PEA) with BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) to perform engineered design plan review and diagnostic evaluation for the Blackstone Avenue and McKinley Avenue BNSF Grade Separation Project and authorize the Public Works Director or designee to execute the agreement on behalf of the City of Fresno (City). EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Blackstone Avenue and McKinley Avenue BNSF Grade Separation Project will eliminate two existing at-grade crossings by grade separating North Blackstone Avenue and East McKinley Avenue under the BNSF Mainline Track. The City has begun presenting design plan elements to BNSF for discussion, however in order for BNSF to review and accept engineered plan submittals, a PEA between BNSF and the City is required. Execution of the PEA will allow the City and BNSF to engage in engineering and site diagnostic meetings to jointly establish critical design elements necessary to complete the Project, such as construction phasing, traffic detours, shoofly alignments, and bridge types. The PEA with BNSF in the amount of $199,561.20, will allow BNSF to provide support services necessary to complete project design. All project costs for the engineering design phase, including this agreement, are funded by Measure C Grade Separation Program funds. BACKGROUND The City has long-planned for future grade separations at locations with high traffic volumes, such as the BNSF crossing at Shaw Avenue, which was grade-separated nearly 20 years ago. In the early 1970s, the City prepared a grade separation study, which evaluated many citywide locations, such as Blackstone Avenue and McKinley Avenue. In FY2020, City staff completed an update of the Blackstone Avenue and McKinley Avenue Grade Separation Feasibility Study. The Blackstone Avenue and McKinley Avenue corridors serve as primary routes by the community, the City's Bus Rapid Transit system, emergency vehicles, and is also part of the Blackstone Smart Mobility Plan providing Class IV protected bike lanes along Blackstone Avenue through the project area. The Blackstone Avenue and McKinley Avenue project location has experienced the highest traffic volumes and number of accidents of any at-grade crossing on the BNSF corridor. The City is now moving the Blackstone Avenue and McKinley Avenue BNSF Grade Separation Project forward from the feasibility planning stage into the preliminary engineering design stage. The 2006 Measure C Expenditure Plan included a percentage of the transportation sales tax revenue to be dedicated to Rail Consolidation, which was then converted by the Fresno County Transportation Authority (FCTA) Board to the Measure C Grade Separation Program in April 2020. At their April 22, 2020 meeting, the FCTA Board also selected the Blackstone Avenue and McKinley Avenue BNSF Grade Separation Project as the highest priority project and approved a Cooperative Project Agreement. The Cooperative Project Agreement was later approved by City Council on June 25, 2020. On April 8, 2021, City Council approved Amendment No. 1 to Cooperative Project Agreement, Grade Separation Program (GSP), Blackstone & McKinley BNSF Grade Separation Project, in the amount of $2,119,938.00, with the FCTA, and the Consultant Services Agreement with AECOM Technical Services, Inc. (AECOM) for $6,483,786.23, with a $325,000.00 contingency, and authorized the Public Works Director or designee to execute the agreements on behalf of the City of Fresno. Since the April 2021 approval the preliminary design and alternatives analysis has been progressing toward the detailed design stage. The City has begun presenting design plan elements to BNSF for discussion, however in order for BNSF to review and accept engineered plan submittals, a PEA between BNSF and the City is required. Execution of the PEA will allow the City and BNSF to engage in engineering and site diagnostic meetings to jointly establish critical design elements necessary to complete the Project, such as construction phasing, traffic detours, shoofly alignments, and bridge types. The PEA with BNSF in the amount of $199,561.20, will allow BNSF to provide support services necessary for the City to complete engineering design by July 2024 and begin grade separation construction in Fall 2024. The City Attorney's Office has reviewed and approved the agreement as to form. ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS On June 25, 2020, City Council Adopted a finding of statutory exemption pursuant to Sections 21080.13(a) of the California Public Resources Code, and 15282(g) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines. This project is statutorily exempt because this is a railroad grade separation project which eliminates an existing grade crossing. LOCAL PREFERENCE Local preference is not applicable to this agreement because the subject property is owned by BNSF and the preliminary engineering work is necessary to determine the feasibility of the grade separation project. FISCAL IMPACT This action item will have no impact to the General Fund. The project is located in Council Districts 1 and 7. All project costs for the engineering design phase will be paid by Measure C Grade Separation Program funds. All funds necessary for the contract award are included in the current fiscal year budget as previously adopted by the Council. Attachments: Preliminary Engineering Services Agreement Vicinity Map