The Regional Transportation Authority Board approved staff’s recommendations today on requests from Pima County and the Town of Marana for supplemental RTA funding over the voter-approved ballot amount for projects in the 20-year regional transportation plan.
“We recommended that the following projects are eligible for supplemental RTA funding, and the amounts comply with the RTA governing laws and regulations,” said RTA Executive Director Farhad Moghimi.
The RTA Board had authorized staff at its Dec. 9 meeting to determine eligible supplemental funding amounts to award to each project.
RTA staff recommended to the board that an intergovernmental agreement with the Town of Marana be updated to award $11,245,000 of supplemental RTA funding for Tangerine Road, Phase 2A, from Interstate 10 to two miles east of I-10. Marana is also contributing another $5 million of local funds to cover the cost of additional improvements.
The RTA determined that due to railroad regulations, an at-grade railroad crossing for the Sunset Road, Phase 2, Interstate 10, east to River Road, project – as proposed in the RTA plan – is no longer feasible. A modification can be made to the RTA plan scope with additional funding to include a railroad overpass since the overpass was anticipated as an option at this crossing in the original scope of work.
With the modification, RTA staff recommended to the board to OK an update to the intergovernmental agreement with Pima County to award and program up to $15,163,000 of supplemental funding for the project, including for the railroad overpass. RTA staff recommended Pima County and ADOT coordinate on the I-10 improvements and Sunset Road traffic interchange connection west of I-10, with Pima County and ADOT bearing the cost for the I-10 widening and work on Sunset Road west of I-10. This cost is ineligible for RTA funding. Optional widening and utility improvements are proposed on Sunset Road, west of I-10. The county is providing $5.2 million of local funding to cover those costs which are not eligible for RTA funding.
All updates to intergovernmental agreements are contingent upon RTA staff audits of all project expenditures.
The Regional Transportation Authority is the fiscal manager of the $2.1 billion plan approved by Pima County voters on May 16, 2006. The RTA Board is comprised of representatives from Pima County; the Cities of Tucson and South Tucson; the Towns of Marana, Oro Valley and Sahuarita; the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and the Tohono O’odham Nation. A Pima County representative of the Arizona State Transportation Board also serves on the board. For more information about the RTA plan, visit RTAmobility.com or call (520) 792-1093.