CONNECTIONS 2040: The Duluth - Superior Long Range Transportaon Plan 5. Projects & Funding This secon of CONNECTIONS 2040 explains how transportaon PY``J`B `3 F`3J`B T`J` PU7- J` DYG- improvements are funded in Duluth- S7J PB7 5-2 Superior, and more specifically how federal funding gets applied to projects Planning Transportaon Projects for 25 Years .................................. 5-2 within the MIC area. This secon Defining Project Types ...................................................................... 5-4 describes how the area’s long-range list Idenfying Projects based on Investment Priories ......................... 5-5 of transportaon improvement projects was developed, and how those projects FJ``-JY A7_7` PB7 5-7 were then assessed for air quality conformity and community impacts. Forecasng Future Revenues ........................................................... 5-7 Forecasng System-level Needs ....................................................... 5-8 Comparing CONNECTIONS 2040 Projects to Forecasted Revenue . 5-11 LJ A T`J` PU7-: 2015-2040 PB7 5-12 MnDOT District 1 project List .......................................................... 5-13 St. Louis County Project List ............................................................ 5-15 City of Duluth Project List ............................................................... 5-17 City of Hermantown Project List ..................................................... 5-20 WisDOT NW Region Project List ..................................................... 5-21 Douglas County Project List ............................................................ 5-23 City of Superior Project List ............................................................ 5-24 Duluth Transit Authority (DTA) Project List .................................... 5-26 Projects idenfied as “Unfunded Needs” ....................................... 5-28 Projects Idenfied as “For Study” .................................................. 5-30 OG7 PU7- A7_7` PB7 5-31 Environmental Jusce & Community Impact Assessment .............. 5-31 Historical Preservaon & Environmentally Sensive Areas Assessments ................................................................................... 5-33 5-1 PY``J`B `3 F`3J`B T`J` PU7- J` DYG-S7J Because building and maintaining transportation infrastructure is expensive and typically takes years of planning and engineering before construction can begin, transportation projects require programming, which is the process of lining up federal, state, and local funding sources for such projects. This chapter of Connecons 2040 idenfies future transportaon projects that are being planned for in the Duluth-Superior area over the next 25 years. It also provides an esmaon of the funding that will be available to finance those projects. Such esmates help members of the MIC and its local and regional transportaon partners determine the financial feasibility of planned projects. As explained in Chapter 2, the development and implementaon of Connecons 2040 is guided by a series of federal laws and regulaons. Among these are 23 U.S.C 134(i)(2)(C) and 49 U.S.C 5303(f)(B), which require metropolitan transportaon plans to be fiscally constrained. As such, this chapter contains the following: • Financial assessment showing reasonably expected funding sources and demonstrating fiscal constraint (p. 5-7) • 25-year list of transportation improvements, organized by jurisdiction (p. 5-12) • Community impact assessment of planned projects (p. 5-31) • Historical preservation and environmentally sensitive areas assessment of planned projects (p. 5-33) Planning Transportaon Projects for 25 Years The following pages contain future transportaon projects that were idenfied through the development of CONNECTIONS 2040. The selecon of these projects was based in part on the various transportaon goals and objecves for the area (Chapter 1), the federal and state policies guiding this plan (Chapter 2), the various trends and projecons for the area (Chapter 3), and the current performance of the exisng transportaon system (Chapter 4). The projects that are listed on the following pages are organized according to the various transportaon jurisdicons in the area. The 5-2 project ID numbers listed in the first column correspond with Using the Connecons 2040 Interacve those labeled in an interacve project map that can be accessed Project Map: at: www.dsmic.org/lrtp (see Figure 5.1 below and the informaon in sidebar at right). The locaons of the projects are also Projects idenfied in this long range plan can illustrated in the Map 5.1 and Map 5.2 found on pages 5-32 and be viewed with an interacve map . The map 5-34. provides for the ability to adjust the scale to improve viewing, as well as retrieve details Figure 5.1: Connecons 2040 interacve web map about specific projects. Projects are organized by the meframe in which they’re planned to implemented. All projects belonging to a meframe can be added or removed from the map using the menu at the le of the map. The implementaon of the projects idenfied in CONNECTIONS Menu of map layers 2040 are being planned according to one of three meframes: short-range (2015-2019), mid-range (2020-2024), and long-range (2025-2040). These meframes represent the following Using the cursor arrow to select individual disncons: projects and open a dialogue showing details about project costs, meframe, and the Short-Range Projects (2015-2019) responsible jurisdicon. Projects already planned and being programmed in either the Duluth Area or Superior Area Transportaon Improvement Projects (TIPs). These documents idenfy federal, state, and local funding sources and amounts to be applied to the projects listed with in them. Mid-Range Projects (2020-2024) Projects idenfied by jurisdicons and already part of their ten- year capital improvement programs. Local funding sources have already been idenfied for many of these projects. Click on projects in the map to get Long-Range Projects (2025-2040) details about the individual projects. Projects that jurisdicons ancipate doing beyond 20 years out, but are currently not part of any capital improvement program. Federal, state, and local funding sources have not yet been idenfied for these projects, though such funding is reasonably expected to be available for them. 5-3 Defining Project Types For the purposes of this plan, the projects idenfied have been Connecons 2040 Project Types: categorized according to the descriptors listed at right. This is useful For the purposes of tracking and analysis, for a number of reasons, but also provides for a quick glimpse of the projects included in this plan have been area’s investment priories. Figure 5.2, for instance, shows how the classified as one of the following: number of projects categorized as either “Reconstrucon” or “Preservaon” represent 69% of the projects listed in the plan. This Construcon is in stark contrast to the 5% of the projects idenfied as either Projects resulng new infrastructure, such as “Construcon” or “Enhancements”. This is, in large part, a reflecon the building of new facilies or addional of the financial challenges being projected for the transportaon lane capacity along exisng roadways. system. Figure 5.3 shows that projects aimed at merely maintaining exisng highway infrastructure and transit operaons accounts for Enhancement 97% of the $1.5 billion esmated total cost for all projects that can Elements being added to an exisng facility be funded with future revenues that can be reasonably ancipated. that enhance the comfort, safety, or accessibility of that facility. Figure 5.2: Number of planned projects by type (2010-2035) Reconstrucon Projects that rebuild or rehab exisng facilies without adding more capacity or change roadway alignment. Preservaon Projects that retain or restore the condion of exisng facilies through repaving or similar acvies. Operaons & Maintenance Maintenance efforts or spot improvements aimed at maintaining exisng levels of service or improving the efficiency and safety of exisng facilies without adding capacity. Vehicle Replacements The purchase of new transit vehicles to replace Figure 5.3: Total costs of planned projects by type (2010-2035) older vehicles for the purpose of maintaining service quality and managing ongoing maintenance costs. Unfunded Need Needs that jurisdicons ancipate having to address within the next 25 years but would not be able to fund with the levels of revenue that can reasonably be expected to be available over that period of me. For Study A need or potenal need that has been idenfied, but appropriate treatments have not yet been determined. 5-4 Idenfying Projects based on Investment Priories As explained in Chapter 3, populaon and employment projecons suggest a level of growth over the next 25 years that will produce capacity challenges in some locaons throughout the roadway network. Over this same period, however, the cost of maintaining Duluth-Superior’s exisng transportaon infrastructure is expected to more than double due to the rising cost of construcon materials and the effects of inflaon. Because of this, reconstrucon and preservaon projects were idenfied early on in the CONNECTIONS 2040 planning process as high priories for future transportaon investments in the area. Project Selecon The projects included in this plan were idenfied in coordinaon with the various transportaon jurisdicons in the area. Staff from the MIC engaged officials and representaves of the area’s various municipalies and jurisdicons by reporng on baseline data