SUBJECT: Advance Funding Agreement between the City of Houston and Texas Department of Transportation for the Rehabilitation or Replacement of Hueni Road Bridge at Mills Branch, WBS No. N-240003-0001-7.
RECOMMENDATION: (Summary) Adopt an Ordinance approving and authorizing an Advance Funding Agreement between the City of Houston and Texas Department of Transportation.
PROJECT NOTICE/JUSTIFICATION: The Federal Off-System Bridge Program is administered by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to replace or rehabilitate bridges located on public roads and streets not located in the designated state highway system.
DESCRIPTION/SCOPE: This project consists of rehabilitating or replacing the Hueni Road Bridge at Mills Branch.
LOCATION: The project is located in Key Map Grid 297K.
PREVIOUS HISTORY AND SCOPE: The Texas Transportation Commission approved Minute Order No. 113967, dated June 26, 2014 for the reconstruction of Hueni Road Bridge at Mills Branch under the Off-System Bridge Replacement Program, hereinafter, referred to as “Participation Waived” Project.
Under this Program, the usual fund participation ratios for the projects are 80 percent federal, 10 percent state and 10 percent local government. The Texas Administrative Code, Title 43, Section 15.55 provides that under specified conditions, the 10 percent local government match requirement may be waived on projects if the local government performs an equivalent dollar amount of structural improvement work on another bridge within its jurisdiction (Equivalent-Match Projects).
On November 12, 2014, Resolution No. 2014-0047 was approved which requested TxDOT to waive the local match participation on Hueni Road Bridge due to the City’s performance of improvements of sufficient value on designated Equivalent-Match Projects. Based on this resolution, TxDOT has agreed to waive the local match and is prepared to begin design on the project.