Staff outlines federal funding requests; city notes $30 million FRA grant secured for underpass

City staff provided an informational briefing Monday on multiple federal funding programs and project priorities, including Regional Roads, Urban Roads, Urban Grants, Transportation Alternatives and the Highway Safety Improvement Program.

Mr. Krako told the committee the Regional Roads request focuses on projects under North Dakota Department of Transportation jurisdiction — Gateway Drive, DeMers Avenue and Washington Street among them — and includes a utility relocation and construction for a new interchange. Krako also confirmed that the Federal Railroad Administration awarded the city a $30,000,000 grant for the underpass and that “that grant agreement was signed and executed, I want to say that was August 1.” He said the remainder of the underpass cost will be funded by a combination of city funds and North Dakota Department of Transportation contributions, and that staff is planning to use Clean Water SRF and Drinking Water SRF loans to cover the city’s local share of utility relocation at roughly 2 percent interest; that local share is included in the street-infrastructure CIP, staff said.

Staff reviewed other competitive programs the city will pursue in future cycles: Urban Roads (classified city streets not under NDDOT), an Urban Grant program focused on downtown revitalization (the next phase of North Fourth Street was noted for 2029), Transportation Alternatives (bicycle and pedestrian shared-use paths, with a proposed extension on DeMers Avenue), and the Highway Safety Improvement Program (intersection safety upgrades and left-turn-lane realignments). The staff report also included reference to the NDDOT’s urban high-crash intersection report and to ongoing projects at Columbia & 20 Fourth, DeMers & 40 Second (planned as a grade-separated crossing) and Washington & DeMers.

Council questions centered on local funding for the underpass, project sequencing and whether proposed projects are already included in the city’s CIP. Staff answered that the local match and utility costs are programmed in the street infrastructure fund and capital-improvement plan.