TIS 2023-02-06 Item 2B - Update - Unsuccessful 2022 RAISE Grant Application for Strander Boulevard Extension Phase 3

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Info Memo, Page 2 Feedback From Granting Agency On January 31, 2023, City staff met with USDOT and Federal Highway Association officials to discuss feedback regarding our 2022 RAISE grant submission. Of the 936 grant applications for the 2022 RAISE grant, only 303 applications made it through the review process and were recommended to the Secretary. Of the applications that made it to the Secretary, only 166 applications were approved for funding. The Tukwila project application was denied for four main reasons: 1. The fact that we returned $5 million in Fastlane funding for this project in 2019 reflected negatively on our application. For future applications for the Strander Blvd Extension project, the City would need to address the return of funds. 2. The 2022 grant application did not address the gaps in funding for the project. The City would need funding commitments from other grantors, outside of RAISE, in order for USDOT to feel secure in their investment. The City could also put forth funding, but the current gap, assuming RAISE funding is received, is estimated to be $80 million. 3. The project review team left a comment on the project schedule stating that the scheduled is too aggressive and unrealistic. They did not think we could meet the schedule laid out in the RAISE requirements. 4. The project scored medium in innovation due to lack of new and emerging technologies in the areas of traffic rate collection and environmental risk. Feedback from Federal Lobbyist The City also received feedback from our federal lobbyist, who suggested that we should wait to apply for the 2024 RAISE application for the Allentown Truck Reroute project, as that is likely to be a more competitive project due to the high level of neighborhood involvement. FINANCIAL IMPACT Since 2016, cost estimates for the Strander Blvd Extension project have increased from $39 million to approximately $100 million. The $100 million estimate was provided by TranTech Engineering, a local consulting firm, in support of the City's 2022 RAISE grant application. The cost estimate is preliminary and will need to be updated to provide accurate project costs. A key reason the project was stopped is because there was no clear funding path to make up the financial gap after the project costs increased. Since that time, the gap in funding has continued to increase because all secured grants were returned and the project was removed from the Capital Improvement Program (CIP), which removed all allocated City funds from the project. There is no budget to support grant leverage, staffing, or other costs associated with restarting the Strander Blvd Extension project. The Public Works Engineering Team also has a key Project Manager position frozen, which would be necessary to provide enough internal capacity to reinstate this project. RECOMMENDATION Administration recommends not applying for the 2023 RAISE grant so that next year we are in a better position to apply for funding for the Allentown Truck Reroute project, which will have a five-year deadline once the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is complete. Phan 20 _4339.1 ' 0 Er Tukwwi Irv' TukwilalR A. ' v 39