***PULLED - Item will not be considered on 6/22/16***

ORDINANCE approving and authorizing the submission of an application for funding grant assistance from the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION to fund the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery Discretionary Grant Program in the City of Houston; declaring the City's eligibility for such grant; authorizing the Mayor to act as the City's representative in the application process; authorizing the Director of the Public Works and Engineering Department to accept such grant funds, if awarded, and to apply for and accept all subsequent awards, if any, pertaining to the program

SUBJECT:  Advance Funding Agreement between the City of Houston and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for the design-build of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) along multiple corridors within the City of Houston.

RECOMMENDATION:  (Summary) Adopt an Ordinance approving and authorizing an Advance Funding Agreement between the City of Houston and FHWA.

PROJECT NOTICE/JUSTIFICATION:  The City of Houston was awarded a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER 2014) Grant to deploy Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) within the City of Houston.  TIGER is a supplementary discretionary grant program included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 administered by the FHWA. 

The City of Houston was awarded $10 million to deploy ITS infrastructure to monitor and manage arterial traffic in real-time.  The system will:

·      Allow traffic management staff to detect and respond to congestion and incidents in real-time;

·      Provide real-time traveler information to the public and partner agencies for analysis and planning;

·      Reduce travel delay and emissions.

·       Improve capacity, accessibility, and travel time reliability;

·      Enable traffic management staff to optimize signal operations by customizing timing plans for varying traffic demands;

·      Allow maintenance staff to identify, assess, and respond quicker to equipment failures.

The total project cost is $25,782,774.  Approval of this funding agreement will allow the City to be reimbursed $10,000,000 of the project cost.  Reimbursement will be through monthly billing as construction costs are incurred.    The City will be responsible for the remaining project costs of $15,782,774 which are programmed in the CIP.

This ordinance will allow the City to enter into an agreement with the Federal Highway Administration to accept the $10,000,000 in funding.  A design-build best value contract is being selected through an RFQ/RFP process.  Once the selection of a provider is made, a contract will be brought forward to Council for approval.

Khang Nguyen, P.E, PTOE

Phone: (832) 395-3008