REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
July 9, 2024
FROM
NOEL CASTILLO, Director, Department of Public Works - Transportation
SUBJECT
Title
Senate Bill 1 Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account Project List for 2024-25
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Adopt Resolution that approves the Senate Bill 1 Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account project list for 2024-25.
(Presenter: Noel Castillo, Director, 387-7906)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Create, Maintain and Grow Jobs and Economic Value in the County.
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
Ensure Development of a Well-Planned, Balanced, and Sustainable County.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA) 2024-25 project list identifies road maintenance projects on which the County will allocate revenues provided by Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. Sufficient appropriation and revenue are included in the Department of Public Works’ (Department) 2024-25 Road Operations budget (6650002000).
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Pursuant to SB 1 (specifically, Streets and Highways Code section 2034) and RMRA guidelines formally adopted by the California Transportation Commission (CTC), cities and counties must adopt and submit to the CTC an annual RMRA project list and any updates to provide a transparent process for the public to know when, where, and how much RMRA funds will be spent. Cities and counties are able to address essential maintenance needs of their road systems with SB 1 funds. The goal of this funding is to maintain roads and infrastructure in order to avoid costly reconstruction work in the future.
The quality of the roads in the County Maintained Road System are rated according to a Pavement Condition Index (PCI), which is a widely recognized standard that identifies a road’s condition using a score from 0-100, with 0 being a completely failed road and 100 being a newly paved or resurfaced road. A PCI of 80 or above is considered a road in very good condition. The PCI is calculated by the Department’s pavement management team, using a nationally standardized methodology, for each County-maintained road based on type, quantity, and severity of pavement distress.
In order to utilize SB 1 funding for other transportation priorities such as bridges, drainage, and road widening projects, the Department must establish and maintain an average PCI of 80 or above for the entire road network. The County’s current network average condition score is 80, which trends downward due to the natural road deterioration rate. The Department estimates that to maintain an average network PCI score of 80, the County would need to achieve an overall network score of 83. At this score, the overall PCI would remain at or above 80, accounting for natural road deterioration. The goal of the SB 1 RMRA program is to achieve and maintain the highest PCI score possible. Once that is achieved, it costs less to maintain a roadway. This will allow less SB 1 funds to be used on maintenance and frees up SB 1 funds to be used on other transportation priorities.
For 2024-25, the Department has identified 13 projects at an estimated total cost of $51,984,000. The Department is projected to receive $44.8 million in RMRA funding. The project list includes three new projects and 10 relisted projects previously approved by the Board of Supervisors (Board) in prior year project lists. The relisted projects will utilize 2024-25 RMRA revenues. While the estimated total cost of projects is greater than the projected revenues, a full list of projects is included to allow for prioritization based on community needs and in case revenues are greater than anticipated. The Department is not obligated to complete projects on the list. However, SB 1 funds may not be spent on projects not identified on the annual RMRA project list.
Projects are selected with input from Department maintenance and operations staff and PCI scores, with priority given to projects that are safety related or where roads require immediate treatment to avoid costly future repairs and to achieve an average PCI of 80 or above for the entire road network. The highest priority is given to high volume roads, those most important to the interest of the general public, and those essential to the economic development of the County. The Department uses pavement management software to develop project lists annually based on the criteria outlined above and the amount of available funding. Projects are grouped by geographical area in order to provide more efficient project delivery.
Roads on the project list are prioritized for maintenance work based on pavement condition and pavement management software that determines when to deliver projects in the most cost efficient and effective manner. Because road deterioration accelerates after a certain time, the costs to return the road to very good condition rise exponentially. Therefore, the Department identifies which roads need rehabilitation at the optimum point in the road’s lifecycle, a point prior to the exponential repair cost. The Department provides Board members and their staff with a copy of the project list for review in advance of project approval. The Department’s pavement management program allows the County to reach and sustain a road network with an overall pavement condition score above 80, on a scale of 1 to 100, which will allow the Department to spend its SB 1 funds on transportation priorities other than maintenance, as provided in the law. The Department completed the following road maintenance and rehabilitation projects in fiscal year 2023-24:
|
Project Title |
Project Description |
Limits |
Cost |
|
Park Drive and Other Roads |
Mill and Overlay; Reconstruction; ADA Curb Ramps Update |
Various Locations in Wrightwood Area |
$1,200,000 |
|
Southwest Del Rosa Area ADA Ramps Project |
ADA Curb Ramps Update |
Various Locations in Del Rosa Area |
$270,000 |
|
Chestnut Avenue |
Reconstruction |
Ilex Street E/Cottonwood Avenue; Fontana |
$160,000 |
|
Lilac Avenue |
Reconstruction |
0.12 miles south of Lure Lane to Tahoe Street; Rialto |
$320,000 |
|
5th Street & Pedley Road |
Traffic Signal Installation; ADA Curb Ramps Update |
Intersection of 5th Street & Pedley Road; San Bernardino |
$340,000 |
|
Valley Boulevard and Other Roads |
Mill and Overlay; Reconstruction; ADA Curb Ramps Update |
Various Roads/Locations in Bloomington Area |
$5,550,000 |
|
Chino/Montclair Area Overlay |
Overlay; Mill and Overlay |
Various Roads in Chino and Montclair Areas |
$5,670,000 |
|
Mountain Avenue and Other Roads |
Mill and Overlay; Guardrail Replacement; ADA Curb Ramps Update |
Various Roads/Locations in San Antonio Heights Area |
$9,200,000 |
|
40th Street and Other Roads |
Mill and Overlay; ADA Curb Ramps Update |
Various Roads/Locations in Arrowhead Farms Area |
$5,500,000 |
|
Total |
$28,210,000 |
Four other projects, totaling $8,940,000 from the fiscal year 2023-24 project list, are currently in construction.
The 2024-25 project list is attached as Exhibit A to the Resolution and provides the project schedule and anticipated construction completion date.
The recommended action meets the County and the Chief Executive Officer’s goals and objectives by securing funding to maintain and preserve the County road network.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Aaron Gest, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on May 30, 2024; Finance (Jessica Trillo, Administrative Analyst, 387-4222) on June 3, 2024; and County Finance and Administration (Paloma Hernandez-Barker, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on June 7, 2024.