Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Maintenance Agreement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City staff previews updated municipal maintenance agreement with TxDOT, including ADA and drainage clarifications
Summary
City transportation staff told the Mobility Committee that an updated municipal maintenance agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation clarifies which agency maintains pavements, signals, lighting, pedestrian facilities and drainage; maps will be attached to the agreement and staff expects to post it as council backup ahead of a Jan. 22 council item.
Richard Mendoza, director for Transportation and Public Works, told the Mobility Committee on Jan. 15 that the city is finalizing an updated municipal maintenance agreement (MMA) with the Texas Department of Transportation that clarifies which assets each party will operate and maintain.
Mendoza said the current MMA dates to 1986 and that the new agreement makes responsibilities more definitive for pavements, bridges, roadside and drainage infrastructure, traffic signs and signals, street lighting and pedestrian facilities. "The new MMA will cover maintenance responsibilities between the city and the TxDOT on these primarily, following asset items," he said.
The presentation differentiates controlled access freeways (freeways with limited access, e.g., I‑35 and MoPac) from state surface routes (such as North Lamar), and assigns different responsibilities to each category. Mendoza told the committee that the state retains responsibility for drainage infrastructure within the state right of way and will operate and maintain drainage facilities in that space; the city maintains drainage and repair obligations that fall outside the state right of way. He added that any city-requested "betterments" to state projects — improvements beyond the standard TxDOT design — would become the city's responsibility to maintain.
Mendoza also said the updated MMA contains language requiring new pedestrian facilities to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and that pedestrian infrastructure built under the agreement will be the city's maintenance responsibility once it is accepted. He said staff does not anticipate a budgetary impact from the updated MMA for the department or the city.
Committee members pressed staff on how the city will show the exact boundaries of state versus city responsibility. Council Member Lane asked that maps showing clear right‑of‑way delineations be attached to the council backup so the city and state know precisely what has been committed. Mendoza said maps delineating routes and boundaries will be attachments to the MMA and that staff can perform property‑line research if there is a dispute.
On recourse if TxDOT fails to perform an obligation in the MMA, Mendoza said the city would elevate the issue to the TxDOT district engineer through the city manager's office and work to resolve disagreements collaboratively. The department expects to post the updated agreement as backup for the Jan. 22 council agenda; once the city executes it, it will proceed to TxDOT for district engineer signature, Mendoza said.
Votes at a glance: The committee approved the minutes from the Dec. 4, 2025 Mobility Committee meeting; the motion was made by Council Member Lane, seconded by Council Member Harper Madison, and the chair announced the motion passed unanimously for those present.
The committee will return to the MMA when the council backup is posted so members can review maps and specific language before council action.
