On September 11, 2009 the NOACA Governing Board approved the following regarding this project: Resolution No. 2009-026 Project Planning Review Resolution No. 2009-026 Transportation Plan Title: Replace Bridge on Madison Avenue in Cleveland Sponsor: City of Cleveland PID No.: 8418 Estimated Total Cost: $5,050,000 (PE, RW and C) Proposed Source of Federal Funds: NOACA History/Background: On May 5, 2009, the City of Cleveland passed Ordinance No. 402-09, amending Sections 1 through 12 of Ordinance No. 1629-06 (passed December 11, 2006), “…authorizing the Director of Public Service to apply to NOACA to pursue federal economic assistance, on behalf of the City of Cleveland, for … the replacement of the Madison Avenue pedestrian bridge (Bridge No. 1:029) over the Norfolk and Southern Railroad and GCRTA, between West 65th Street and West 58th Street, and the rehabilitation of the existing West 61st Street pedestrian bridge, adjacent to the Madison Avenue Bridge…” On June 8, 2009, the City of Cleveland passed Ordinance No. 655-09, amending Ordinance No. 1629-06 (as amended by Ordinance No. 402-09, passed May 5, 2009); to supplement the ordinance by adding new Section 11a “…authorizing the Director Service to enter into an agreement to Contract…to provide additional design services for rehabilitating the Madison Avenue and West 61st Street pedestrian bridges; authorizing the Commissioner of Purchases and Supplies to acquire for right-of-way purposes any real property and easements necessary to make the improvement.” Current Conditions: The Madison Avenue Bridge is a two-lane facility. The pavement width is 40 feet with lanes 15 feet wide. The width of the existing sidewalks is 12 feet. The length of the bridge is 289 feet. The sponsor reports that the bridge, built in 1921, is in critical condition and is closed to roadway traffic. Eliminating this vehicular bridge directs eastbound traffic onto West 65th Street, a major collector street. According to the sponsor, planned removal of the bridge has been well received by the City Safety Departments, the neighborhood planning group and City Council. Proposed Project: This project involves removing and replacing the existing bridge on Madison Avenue over Norfolk Southern Railroad and the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) railroad tracks (location map) (aerial photo) with a pedestrian bridge. Madison Avenue terminates at West 58th Street, 1,000 ft. east of West 65th Street. The new pedestrian bridge would maintain neighborhood access to the new GCRTA Rapid Station north entrance at West 65th and St. Colman’s Church and school both located at the southwest corner of the bridge. In addition to the replacement bridge project on Madison Avenue, the sponsor proposes to rehabilitate the West 61st Street pedestrian bridge, which serves the GCRTA rapid station’s south entrance in conjunction with installing the Madison Avenue Bridge. According to the sponsor, the removal of Madison Bridge and rehabilitation of West 61st Pedestrian Bridge has been well received by the City Safety Departments, neighborhood planning groups and City Council. The sponsor reports that they intend to utilize prefabricated pedestrian bridge sections on this project, which will require separating the waterline and utility bank systems on separate elevated pipe structures. The estimated total cost, provided by the sponsor, is $5,050,000. The estimated cost of preliminary engineering (PE) is $385,000. The estimated cost of right-of-way (RW) is $50,000. The estimated cost of construction is $4,615,000. The sponsor requests that eighty percent ($3,692,000) of the construction cost be funded with NOACA-administered Surface Transportation Program (STP) funds. The City of Cleveland intends to provide the non-federal share of construction ($923,000). The PE and RW costs will be borne by the sponsor. Staff Comment (Summary): Plan and Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Team: This project is consistent with NOACA’s Connections 2030 Plan Goals #3 (Preserve and Improve the Efficiency of the Transportation System), #4 (Establish More Balanced Transportation System), #5 (Improve Mobility of Transit Dependent), and #7 (Reinvestment in the Urban Core) and ODOT’s Access Ohio 2004 - 2030 Goal #4 (System Preservation). This project is currently portrayed in NOACA’s SFYs 2008 – 2011 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), dated May 11, 2007, with only local funds. The sponsor’s request for eighty percent STP funds for the project’s construction cost merits its processing through project planning review (PPR). Although the estimated construction cost is less than the construction cost portrayed in the TIP, the project scope has changed. In accordance with NOACA’s Regional Transportation Investment Policy (October 2008), “projects already on the Plan or TIP that request a change in scope or significant cost increase (greater than 20%) must go through PPR again”. NOACA has not traditionally funded this type of project with STP, though it would be eligible.This project involves constructing a pedestrian bridge in place of a bridge that previously served both vehicular and pedestrian traffic (although closed to vehicular traffic for several years). The sponsor also proposes to rehabilitate an existing pedestrian bridge. Funding this type of project using NOACA STP funds could be setting a precedent. The elements of the project that involve a pedestrian bridge(s) may be eligible, in whole or part, for NOACA Transportation Enhancement Activity (TE) funds. However, current NOACA policy states that “it is recommended that no one project should receive more than 12% of the available TE balance”. Depending on the TE eligible items and their associated costs, the TE funds alone would most likely be insufficient. The sponsor should review the cost estimate at significant review stages of project design development. Recommend committee and public review in order to obtain comments. Regional Transportation System (RTS) Team: The bridge over Madison Avenue has a General Appraisal of 1 (imminent failure condition), the sufficiency rating is 2 (sufficiency rating is between 0 and 100, with 100 being a totally sufficient bridge and 0 being totally deficient). The operating status of the bridge is "K", (Bridge closed to all traffic) The pedestrian bridge over NS RR and GCRTA has a General Appraisal of 4 (poor condition). Intergovernmental Review and Consultation (IGRC): If you are a representative of a governmental entity and would like to comment on this project, please email us. "Both of these bridges are proximate to the W. 65th Street/Eco-Village Red Line Rapid Transit Station. Both bridges are over RTA tracks. RTA is already been coordinating with the City of Cleveland Engineering Department on these bridges. RTA has significant interest in this project given its proximity to its station, tracks, and other important infrastructure. The City must take all precautions in design to avoid construction issues with RTA facilities, tracks and operations. The City must also provide for an acceptable maintenance of traffic plan for the bridges during construction." - GCRTA Public Involvement: NOACA encourages comments from the public on this proposed transportation improvement project. Please notify us if you would like to be added to our e-mail notification list for future updates. Committee Review: Regional Transportation Investment Subcommittee (RTIS)/Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC): No comments; recommended for amendment to NOACA's Transportation Plan.