Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute the Crossing Agreement with Union Pacific Railroad Company (“UP”), in the amount of $406,647 to the replace the concrete panels at the Decoto Road Oakland Subdivision railroad crossing as part of the At-Grade Pedestrian Crossing at BART Project, City Project No. 14-14.

This agenda item is in alignment with the following:

Goal C, Strategy 2: Economic, Community Development and Public Safety – Facilitate the build out of the greater Station District Area through the construction of the Quarry Lakes Parkway, completion of the pedestrian rail crossing, and implementing the recommendations of the Southern Alameda County Regional Rail Integration Study to make the Station District a passenger rail hub served by ACE.

The City of Union City intends to construct a new at-grade crossing on the Oakland Subdivision to facilitate pedestrian and bicycle access between the BART Station and City’s Intermodal Station District and the neighborhoods east of the Oakland Subdivision (the “At-Grade Pedestrian Crossing Project”). In order to move forward with the At-Grade Pedestrian Crossing Project, the City is being required by the California Public Utility Commission (“CPUC”) to make various railroad improvements throughout the City, including permanently closing the I Street at-grade railroad crossing between 11^th and 12^th Street on the Oakland Subdivision tracks (the “I Street Railroad Crossing”).

On July 9, 2019, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 5503-19 authorizing the City Manager to execute the “Public At-Grade Pedestrian Crossing Agreement, BART Pedestrian Crossing, DOT 859611R, Mile Post 27.08 – Oakland Subdivision, City of Union City, Alameda County, California, (Public At-Grade Crossing Permit), UP Real Estate Folder No: 3055-45” (“Original Agreement”).

On September 10, 2024, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 6361-24, authorizing the City Manager to enter into a Supplemental Agreement which amended the City’s Original Agreement with UP.

Under the terms of the Original Agreement, the City paid UP to design and to construct railroad warning gates, safety equipment and communications facilities at various railroad crossings, while the City designed and will construct the non-rail elements which include realigned pedestrian ramps, stairs, hand railing, drainage and architectural elements such as granite cladding and lights.  The City’s scope will also include installing realigned concrete sidewalks, refuge island, signage and striping.

On October 8, 2024, City Council held a Public Hearing and adopted Resolution No. 6370-24 approving the closure and vacation of the I Street railroad crossing as part of the At-Grade Pedestrian Crossing at BART Project, City Project No. 14-14. At the same meeting, Public Works provided an update of the project history and the proposed project improvements including the replacement and extension of the concrete panels along the Oakland Subdivision railroad at the Decoto Road at-grade crossing.

The various components and required improvements associated with the At-Grade Pedestrian Crossing at BART Project, City Project No. 14-14, can be summarized as follows:

Phase I - Construct the at-grade pedestrian crossing at the east entrance to the BART Station. This is the core project and is the largest and most significant component of the entire project and will be advertised for bid in the last months of 2024/early 2025. The construction period is approximately 8-10 months.

Phase II A – Replace existing concrete panels at the Decoto Road Oakland Subdivision railroad crossing with new, longer concrete panels. All work will be done by UP crews. By extracting this element from other Phase II improvements, the City will be better able to coordinate with UP in terms of when the work is done to minimize impact to school-related traffic, such as by doing this work during spring break 2025 or summer 2025.

The concrete panel replacement will impact the traffic on Decoto Road the most since it will require complete road closure and traffic detour in the vicinity of the crossing for a period of 1 to 2 weeks. Thus, by completing this task ahead of the rest of the Phase II project, the City’s contractors will be able to plan and execute the project work according to their schedule without interruption.

The Crossing Agreement includes the cost for UP crews to replace the concrete panel crossing as well as for implementation of the detour plan, which City staff will review with UP’s traffic control sub-contractor. Thus, to expedite this work, the City will be paying this cost separately and ahead of the rest of the Phase II improvements.

Phase II B – Install other miscellaneous improvements at the Decoto Road Oakland Subdivision railroad tracks as required per the Public Utilities Commission of the State of California’s General Order No. 75-D, Regulations Governing Standards for Warning Devices for At-Grade Highway-Rail Crossings in the State of California (“CPUC Governing Standard”).  These improvements include those listed in CPUC Governing Standard No. 9, such as updated pedestrian walkways, median refuge island, queue-cutter signals for advanced railroad pre-emption, striping, signage, and replacing existing railroad safety gates, lights, and flashing lights.  They also include the installation of new pedestrian safety gates per CPUC Governing Standard No. 8. The design is still under review by UP and will go to bid along with Phase II C as a single project once approved, which is anticipated in early 2025.

Phase II C – Permanent closure of the I Street railroad crossing between 11^th and 12^th Streets, as required by UP and the CPUC. The design has been completed and this work will be included in the Phase II B bid package to help delay the closure as much as possible. This closure is required prior to the opening of the new pedestrian crossing at BART, as well as the completion of all Phase II components.

Phase III – Safety improvements at the Smith Street railroad crossing and the Whipple Road railroad crossing (Niles Subdivision), as required per Exhibit G of the Original Agreement.  UP has consented that Phase III work can be undertaken in the future as separate projects following the completion of the Phase I and Phase II projects. The design of these two projects is almost approved since, at one point, UP had required the City to complete all three phases as a single project and the City had expended considerable effort in getting the design at the Smith Street railroad crossing and the design at the Whipple Road railroad crossing completed. Depending upon the approval process and availability of funds, this project could go to bid in late 2025 or early 2026.

The At-Grade Pedestrian Crossing at BART Project is funded with $7.17 million in the approved 5-Year Capital Improvement Plan –

Fiscal Year 2023-2024 to 2027-2028, as follows:

Local Funds (Measure BB and RDA Bonds)                                      $ 1,170,000

Safe Route to BART (SRTB) Grant                                                   $ 3,000,000

Dumbarton Corridor Grant – Regional Measure 3 (RM3) Grant       $ 3,000,000

                                                                                                            $ 7,170,000

The UP cost in the Crossing Agreement for replacing the concrete panels at the Decoto Road Oakland Subdivision railroad crossing and associated traffic control is $406,647, which will be paid with Public Improvement funds (Account Number 4160-35-30-310-3150-091414-54111).

The Crossing Agreement also identified an estimated annual maintenance cost of $6,040. This annual maintenance cost will be included in the upcoming Two-Year Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 and Fiscal Year 2026-2027.

There is no impact on the General Fund.

Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute the Crossing Agreement with Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP), in the amount of $406,647, to replace the concrete panels at the Decoto Road Oakland Subdivision railroad crossing as part of the At-Grade Pedestrian Crossing at BART Project, City Project No. 14-14.

Farooq Azim, City Engineer