City authorizes commitment to front‑fund Glendale‑Hyperion bridge retrofit under Caltrans offer

The Board of Public Works committee on July 1 authorized the Bureau of Engineering to accept a Caltrans funding package and to proceed with agreements and front‑funding commitments for the Glendale‑Hyperion Bridge seismic retrofit and mobility upgrade project.

The Bureau of Engineering reported that the low construction bid received July 24, 2024 was approximately $208.8 million and that, after adding a 10% construction contingency and 10% construction engineering allowance, the total construction budget is roughly $250.6 million. "The Glendale Hyperion Bridge is an iconic landmark in the city of Los Angeles... The bridge is nearly a 100 years old and is well beyond its service life. It is seismically vulnerable and is founded by several active fault lines," Bureau of Engineering senior civil engineer Andres Foer said during the presentation.

Caltrans has offered $221.8 million in Federal Highway Bridge Program funds and $11 million in state Proposition 1B funds, leaving the city's local-match burden at approximately $17.7 million under the current funding offer. The Caltrans offer, the bureau said, is subject to three major caveats: the project budget is capped (no guarantee of additional Caltrans funding beyond the offered amount); the city must cash‑flow the project and be reimbursed quarterly; and Caltrans will not reimburse interest costs if the city borrows to meet cash‑flow needs. Caltrans also capped annual reimbursements at $20 million per year, though the bureau said there is a process to request accelerated reimbursements in years when the state has capacity.

Bureau of Engineering staff told the committee the city would need a significant front‑funding commitment to keep the contractor from stalling and to avoid bonding/price‑escalation risks. "The city is required to cash flow and front fund the project. Caltrans will reimburse on a quarterly basis for construction expenditures," the bureau said. The report noted that $30 million already was included in the fiscal 2025–26 CTIP physical‑plant program to support first‑year cash flow, and staff described a planning target of roughly $102 million in local front funding to reach the project midpoint and allow reimbursements to outpace expenditures in later years.

The committee asked about how long the reimbursement schedule would take to repay the city's outlays; city staff estimated, under conservative assumptions and with $20 million annual reimbursements, that full repayment could stretch into the early-to-mid 2030s without accelerated reimbursements, and that the 30 million in CTIP funding should be sufficient to fund near‑term cash‑flow needs through fiscal 2025–26. CAO staff said they would work with the Bureau of Engineering on annual recommendations for fund sources, including CTIP allocations or financing options such as MICLA.

Other project details presented to the committee included: - A projected construction duration of roughly five years if work maintains at least one lane of traffic open in each direction during construction; schedules could be shortened if the bridge is fully closed but staff said that would create major disruption to the corridor. - A 10% contingency (~$20 million) included in the budget to cover unanticipated costs; staff said Caltrans’ $250 million cap would limit future additions to the Caltrans funded portion. - Considerations of tariffs, rising material costs and bid‑bond extensions: the low bidder has been extending bid bonds monthly since July 2024; staff said firms do pay to extend bid bonds and the contractor has repeatedly extended to hold prices.

The committee approved the staff recommendation to accept the Caltrans funding package, authorize execution of required agreements and delegate technical changes to the city engineer. The roll call vote showed two ayes (Council member Hernandez and Council member Hutt; Council member Padilla was absent) and the item was approved.

Why it matters: the Glendale‑Hyperion Viaduct is a major river and freeway crossing between Northeast Los Angeles and Glendale; the project would seismically retrofit the nearly 100‑year‑old structure, add mobility improvements such as bike lanes and enhanced pedestrian access, and reconfigure an I‑5 on/off ramp to improve local traffic safety. The funding package minimizes the city’s net construction cost but requires a significant near‑term local cash commitment and acceptance of reimbursement timing and interest‑reimbursement limits.

Ending note: city and CAO staff said they will return with annual cash‑flow plans and options for front‑funding (CTIP, MICLA or other combinations) and stressed that the Caltrans funding offer is time‑sensitive because contractors have been extending bid bonds monthly since July 2024.