Quick Take
The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission is set to hear a report that outlines ways to reduce costs and modify the project delivery of Coastal Rail Trail Segments 8 through 11 at its Thursday meeting. The staff has pitched a phased approach to building the segments, which could lead to a reduction of secured grant funds.
Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) staff have laid out three ways to address the escalating costs of building a 7-mile stretch of the Coastal Rail Trail from the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf to State Park Drive in Aptos. However, staff warned that each would risk the loss of tens of millions in state and federal grants.
The four sections of trail, known as Segments 8-11, are facing a $72 million funding gap due to multiple factors including escalating construction and material costs. At the agency’s September meeting, RTC commissioners asked staff to search for new funding to cover the shortfall and explore ways to cut costs, as well as hold a discussion on railbanking — a process that would allow the RTC to build a trail on top of the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line while theoretically preserving the corridor for future use for a train.
The RTC secured nearly $125 million in funding commitments for the rail trail segments from the state and federal government. But the projects’ designs have to be completed and submitted to Caltrans, the granting agency, by March 2027. If the RTC has to wait several more years to get more state and federal money, it puts the already secured funding at risk.
The four segments are on a tight schedule, with final design scheduled for completion in 2026 and groundbreaking set for 2027. If staff do not complete the final design and other preconstruction work this year and fail to meet the 2027 construction deadline, the agency could risk some of its $96.6 million in state funding, and any further delays could also risk $19.5 million in federal dollars.
A staff report published to the RTC’s website on Monday singles out building the projects in phases, where part of the trail is built first and the rest is built later, as one way to push it forward. But a phased approach would also mean staff would allocate the previously awarded funding toward the first part of the project, forcing the agency to seek additional grants of up to $138 million to pay for future trail construction, depending on how it phases the project. That could come from both state and federal sources, but it is unclear how quickly the agency could secure the funding.
RTC staff offered three potential options. The first would allow the RTC to build 3.7 miles of trail between the Santa Cruz Wharf and 47th Avenue in Capitola. It would require $43 million in local funding and could result in the loss of $40 million in state and federal grant funding. A second phase to build the remaining 3.3 miles of trail would need another $94 million in future grants, along with at least $19 million additional local dollars.
The second option is meant to get 2.2 miles of trail built in the most densely populated area between the wharf and 17th Avenue in Live Oak. This option would require $34 million in local dollars, but could amount to $68 million lost in grant funding. Later phases would require $138 million in grant funding and $28 million in local money.
However, the staff report also notes that if the City of Santa Cruz is awarded $21 million by the end of the year from a program run by the U.S. Department of Transportation that supports local and regional initiatives to improve roadway safety, that could reduce the funding gaps for options one and two.
The final option would construct the shortest amount of trail, just 1.5 miles, but would reduce the need for local dollars to $20 million. However, it would likely result in the largest loss of previously awarded grant funding, at $80 million. Further, the staff report says that it’s not certain how this option would affect the City of Santa Cruz’s possible federal grant, since its funding is meant for work extending beyond 7th Avenue. The trail sections between 7th Avenue and 17th Avenue are not included in this option.
Commissioners aren’t expected to vote on the three options this week. Staff also submitted a grant application for the annual RTC Consolidated Grant Program, which allows the RTC to choose projects to receive a cut of a total of $15 million in state and federal funding for transportation projects. Staff also prepared a request for local taxpayer dollars if the project is not awarded consolidated grant program funding. The RTC will consider requests in November.
The meeting begins at 9 a.m. on Thursday.
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