32 - Declaring the City of Paris' intent to provide 1% of the needed funding for the Northeast Loop 286 TxDOT Improvement Project

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Item No. 32 TO: Mayor, Mayor Pro -Tem & City Council FROM: Grayson Path, City Manager SUBJECT: TxDOT Loop 286 Project Northeast Loop Intention to Contribute Financially DATE: December 13, 2021 BACKGROUND: The TxDOT has long been planning major improvements to Loop 286 around Paris. This would be a substantial project, but it is absolutely necessary in order to maintain critical infrastructure for our community and economy. This project consists of several potential phases if the entire project is not funded at once. Once such phase is the Northeast Loop from Stillhouse Road to Pine Mill Road. This is arguably one of the busiest stretches of roadway in Lamar County. A project here would consist of building a new overpass at North Collegiate, rebuilding the overpass at FM195, adding one-way frontage roads along both sides of Loop 286, and replacing Loop 286 from Stillhouse Road to Pine Mill Road. This project would improve safety, increase regional mobility, improve traffic operations, and address long term maintenance issues. In regards to safety, it is estimated that this project could help reduce crashes by 65% given the area at North Collegiate Drive accounts for nearly a third of crashes on the entire Loop. Given the price tag for the entire Loop 286 project around Paris, TxDOT believes it must focus its attention on the Northeast Loop at this time. This project is approximately 90% through schematic drawing and nearly 30% through construction design. This has allowed them to estimate it at nearly $90 million (that is strictly an estimate). STATUS OF ISSUE: The local TxDOT Regional Office, working with members of the Sulphur River Regional Mobility Authority (SURRMA), Lamar County, and City of Paris, met to discuss this project. We believe