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TEMPORARY EASEMENT E-2021-17: CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTANCE OF A TEMPORARY DRIVEWAY EASEMENT DONATED BY IMHOFF, L.L.C. FOR THE ROBINSON STREET WEST OF I-35 WIDENING PROJECT.
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BACKGROUND: Robinson Street, immediately west of Interstate 35, has been a concern of the City and Norman drivers for more than two decades. The high traffic volume on this segment of roadway, combined with the two closely spaced signalized intersections at North Interstate Drive and Crossroads Boulevard/Rambling Oaks Drive, and the commercial driveways in close proximity to the signalized intersections, make this area one of the most congested in the City. See the attached Project Area Map.
Development of the University North Park (UNP) area, which is bordered by Robinson Street on the south, Tecumseh Road on the north, Interstate Highway 35 on the west, and the Max Westheimer Airport on the east has and will continue to add traffic to this already congested segment of roadway.
To help resolve the additional congestion from UNP, on August 22, 2006, City Council acting as the Norman Tax Increment Finance Authority, approved Contract K-0607-45 with the University Town Center L.L.C., regarding Development Agreement No. 1 for the initial project activities associated with the traffic improvements needed to mitigate the additional traffic generated by the University North Park (UNP) development. The agreement stipulated that the improvements would be funded by the UNP Tax Increment Financing (TIF). One of the related improvements associated with the projects is the modification of the Robinson Street interchange on the west side of Interstate 35.
On November 13, 2012, City Council approved Contract K-1213-50 with Garver Engineers in the amount of $185,600 for Phase 1 of the interchange improvement project, which analyzed the Robinson Street corridor near Interstate 35 and recommended a preferred alternative that improves traffic flow on the west side of the interchange. This allowed Staff to develop a defined scope of work for the interchange improvements.
On July 22, 2014, City Council approved Amendment No. 1 to Contract K-1213-50 with Garver Engineers in the amount of $38,450 expanding the analysis of the Robinson Street corridor to include the entire UNP area and surrounding transportation network, in essence, completing a new Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) that uses the latest traffic data and land use scenarios for the undeveloped portions of the UNP. The I-35 at West Robinson Study completed by Garver in March 2014 provided six different alternatives to the existing lane configuration to improve traffic flow on the Robinson Street Interchange on the west side of I-35. Upon review of the six alternatives, three were chosen for further refinement. The three were reviewed for operational and safety advantages and disadvantages and project cost. The preferred alternative, which can only provide temporary relief until either the Robinson Street interchange is reconstructed or a new interchange at Rock Creek Road is built, relocates the intersection of North Interstate Drive with Robinson Street approximately 225 feet east of the current location and adds more traffic lanes on Robinson Street, between Crossroads Boulevard/Rambling Oaks Drive and North Interstate Drive (See Preferred Alternative Drawing).
On November 25, 2014, City Council adopted resolution R-1415-57, requesting $3,657,170 in federal transportation funds to fund 80% of the construction cost of the preferred alternative.
On April 14, 2015, City Council approved Amendment No. 1B to Contract K-1213-50 with Garver Engineers in the amount of $59,800 for Phase B of the University North Park Traffic Impact Assessment.
In November, 2016 Staff submitted an application to the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments (ACOG) for inclusion of the project in the regional Transportation Improvement Plan and will be able to obtain the funding in Federal Fiscal Year 2019.
The preferred alternative has been reviewed by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) because it impacts the Interstate 35 interchange at Robinson Street. On January 19, 2017 ODOT gave the City their concurrence with the preferred alternative.
On March 14, 2017, City Council approved Amendment No. 2 to Contract K-1213-50 in the amount of $394,225 with Garver Engineers for preliminary and final design services on the Robinson Street West of I-35 Project.
On September 25, 2020, in companion agenda items, City Council is being asked to approve the ODOT Funding Agreement in the amount of $1,003,014 and approve the ODOT Right-of-Way and Utility Agreement.
DISCUSSION: The City must acquire three (3) temporary driveway easements from two (2) parcels along Interstate Drive north of Robinson Street between I-35 and Crossroads Boulevard for the construction of the Robinson Street West of I-35 Project. No additional right-of-way is needed for the project. All of these easements have been secured and were donated by the landowners so there were be no additional cost to the project for these easements. Since these are temporary easements, they do not get filed at Cleveland County like permanent easements are handled. The attached table provides the details of each easement. Aerial exhibits attached to the easements show the specific location of each easement.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends the above described easements be accepted.