Approve Reimbursement Agreement with Union Pacific Railroad Company regarding preliminary engineering services for review of County Road 32A Railroad Crossing Relocation and Grade Separation Project design. (No general fund impact) (Fieseler/Riddiough)

Approval of the Reimbursement Agreement is required for the County to receive Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) design review support for the County Road 32A Railroad Crossing Relocation and Grade Separation Project (Project), and to show Yolo County partnership with UP to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) that oversees the Railroad Crossing Elimination (RCE) grant program that is providing Project design funding.

Background

County Road 32A is a frontage road on the north side of Interstate 80 between the City of Davis and the Yolo Causeway.  See Attachment A for a vicinity map and Attachment B for an aerial map of the existing railroad crossing area on County Road 32A.  County Road 32A connects with Chiles Road (County Road 32B) at the Yolo Causeway, where it crosses under Interstate 80, providing access to farming activities on the north and south sides of Interstate 80.  County Road 32A includes a Class II Bikeway (bikes and vehicles share the roadway) between the Class I Bikeway (bike path separated from the roadway) from the City of Davis (at County Road 105) and the Class I Bikeway on Interstate 80 over the Yolo Causeway.

In November 2021, the Board of Supervisors received the County Road 32A Railroad Crossing Relocation Project Study Report (PSR) and directed staff to pursue available funding opportunities for the preferred Alternative 8 (see Attachment C), which would relocate the County Road 32A crossing of the UP railroad tracks approximately two miles to the east with a grade separation (i.e., bridge crossing over the tracks).

In February 2022, Yolo County advertised a notice of request for qualifications for grant writing services for the Project.  Mark Thomas & Company, Inc. submitted the highest ranked statement of qualifications.  In September 2024, Mark Thomas & Company submitted a grant application for the RCE grant program for the Project.  Yolo County was awarded $4,160,000 in January 2025 to advance Project design.

As part of the process to award the RCE grant funds to Yolo County, the FRA has requested evidence that Yolo County has engaged with UP for acknowledgment of the proposed Project on its rail line. UP establishes partnerships for such grants via the attached Reimbursement Agreement (see Attachment D) for UP design assistance through Project design.  For the size and complexity, this Project meets UP’s expected review threshold of $200,000 for their design review efforts.  In discussions with UP, Yolo County staff were assured by UP staff that this Project review effort is not expected to reach the $200,000 threshold level given the advanced collaborative design efforts previously accomplished through the PSR process, though the Reimbursement Agreement clarifies that the $200,000 is an estimate only and the County is required to reimburse UP for “one hundred percent (100%) of all actual costs and expenses incurred for the PE Work.”

If UP approves the Project, the Reimbursement Agreement requires the parties to then enter into a Construction and Maintenance Agreement (C&M Agreement) regarding the terms and conditions for the construction and ongoing maintenance of the Project.

Federal Railroad Administration
Union Pacific Railroad Company
County Counsel approved the agreement as to form.

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