City lays out $35.66 million capital program for 2026; rail separation and wastewater upgrades among top projects

Public works staff presented the city’s 2026 capital program and flagged a heavy construction year ahead, noting both the budget and the staffing effort required to deliver dozens of concurrent projects.

Unidentified Speaker 9 said staff have programed $35,660,000 in capital projects for 2026. The largest shares of that total are associated with major transportation and infrastructure efforts, including the Artera Streets program, a rail separation project, a bridge and US-101 safety-improvement work. Staff said roughly $5 million is allocated in the wastewater fund and a little over $5.75 million in the stormwater fund; the presenter also described a roughly $1 million-plus transfer from the transportation benefit district fund into the 105 fund.

The presenter highlighted three high-effort projects: the rail separation, critical wastewater-treatment improvements, and a pump-station program. He reported that staff secured an additional $1.6 million in grant funding for the Farragut pump station; if the grant holds, that project would be entirely grant funded and not require city debt.

Public works warned of heavy summer workloads — about 15 active construction projects at peak — and explained the department intends to internalize a significant portion of construction management rather than rely solely on external consultants to control costs and maintain responsiveness.

Staff noted localized impacts for residents around projects such as Pump Station 13 and the US-101 corridor, and said a council award for a contractor (anticipated at a future council meeting) will be returned to council for formal approval.

The presentation closed with staff offering to answer council questions and a reminder that some awards will return as formal agenda items for contract approval and that coordination with multiple consulting firms will be necessary.