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ORANGE COUNTY ORANGE UNIFIED TRANSPORTATION BOARD (OUTBoard) ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date:November 18, 2015 Action Agenda Item No.5.b.iii SUBJECT: Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) award from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Transportation Planning Branch DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N)N ATTACHMENT(S): 1.CMAQ Award Letter INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Murphy, Transportation Administrator, 919-245-2002 PURPOSE: To receive an update on a recent CMAQ award from the NCDOT Transportation Planning Branch BACKGROUND: The CMAQ program was implemented to support surface transportation projects and other related efforts that contribute air quality improvements and provide congestion relief. The program is jointly administered by Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and funds are made available through the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and applications are facilitated by the Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs). Under theMoving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), funds are provided to areas in nonattainment or maintenance for ozone, carbon monoxide, and/or particulate matter. Orange County is classified as an area in Maintenance. CMAQ funds require a state or local match. The typical split between federal and project sponsor is 80 percent Federal, 20 percent State and/or local match.For this grant, Orange County contributed a 20 percent local match. In July, Orange County Planning staff submitted an application for CMAQ funds through the Burlington-Graham Metropolitan Planning Organization (BG MPO) for $164,129 to fund transit service expansion along the U.S. 70 corridor between Mebane and Hillsborough. A local match of $41,033 (20%) would be required, bringing the total cost to $205,162. Distribution of funds would be in FY 2016 and FY 2017. BG MPO endorsed the application and it was submitted to the NCDOT Transportation Planning Branch. The county was notified in mid-October that the requested service expansion funds had been awarded. The service expansion would introduce off-peak fixed-route transit service along U.S. 70 connecting Mebane, Efland and Hillsborough between 10am and 3pm, Monday - Friday (approximately 5 hours daily). The service will be known as the Orange-Alamance Connector. The service will complement GoTriangle's existing peak-period Orange-Durham Express (ODX) service connecting Mebane, Efland, Hillsborough and Durham. The focus of the service is to provide off-peak choice riders and transit-dependent populations (which are heavily ,WHPELLL 19