State Highway 6 (SH6) serves as a major arterial for Sugar Land and provides connectivity throughout Fort Bend County. The primary need for the proposed project is a direct response to the operational and geometric deficiencies, as well as traffic congestion on SH6 in the vicinity of US59. In 2009, SH6 underwent Phase II widening by adding an outside lane which alleviated some congestion. A triple left turn lane was also added on US59 south bound frontage road to improve intersection functionality and minimize delays. The City defined this project as a high priority in the Capital Improvement Program due to these deficiencies and the level of congestion that is experienced between Brooks Street and Lexington Blvd. The Advanced Funding Agreement (AFA) will solidify Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) funding of the project as it has been identified in the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) through the Houston-Galveston Area Council (HGAC).

The proposed project focuses on widening SH6 from six to eight lanes between Brooks St. and Lexington Blvd. During the weekday and weekend peak periods, it is not uncommon for vehicles queued in various turn lanes to spillback and block through lane movements on SH6. The current configuration of SH6 does not adequately support the existing or future traffic volumes. As additional activity and destination centers develop along this corridor, the increase in traffic will occur and will lead to added congestion.

Since the execution of the original Advanced Funding Agreement (AFA) in May 2015 significant increases in right-of-way (ROW) costs warranted a need for additional non-local funds to keep the project viable. Although AFA Amendment No.1 approved in November 2016 provided additional $500,000 for ROW cost from TxDOT, the local contribution would still be approximately $2M. Staff recently discovered that SH6 is a TxDOT recognized hurricane evacuation route which qualifies it for 100% ROW reimbursement. Staff worked with TxDOT diligently and negotiated a stand alone new ROW Agreement.

The agenda item for consideration is to approve a TxDOT 100% ROW Procurement Agreement (Resolution No. 18-34) to provide additional non-local funding for the SH6 Phase III Improvements Project. This agreement will eliminate the City's ROW cost share obligations generating a savings of approximately $2M depending on actual final expenditures.

The terms of this TxDOT ROW 100% Agreement include the following:

• City to acquire all ROW parcels to meet TxDOT and FHWA requirements;
• TxDOT to reimburse City 100% of qualifying ROW acquisition costs including appraisals, real property, title costs and any sign relocations required by the project up to $6,222,612.

The Engineering Department recommends the City Council approve Resolution No.18-34 for Right of Way Procurement Agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation for SH6 Phase III Improvements Brooks St. to Lexington Blvd., CIP ST1404.