APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Executive Director to enter into a Measure X Funding Agreement with Monterey-Salinas Transit, subject to approval by Agency Counsel, for an amount not to exceed $1,450,000, to support the preliminary engineering and environmental analysis for the Highway 1 Busway project.

This funding agreement will allow the Transportation Agency to reimburse Monterey-Salinas Transit for expenses paid on the preliminary engineering and environmental analysis phase of the project, not to exceed $1,450,000 in Measure X Funds; the remaining costs will be paid out of MST's share of the State of California’s Local Partnership Program ($100,000).  Funding for all phases of the Highway 1 Busway project is identified in Measure X (up to a total of $15 million). This project is also eligible for SB 1 gas tax and fee revenues through multiple grant programs. 

The Highway 1 Busway Project, recently re-branded as "Surf! Bus Rapid Transit," was identified as a regional project in Measure X. The proposed rapid bus corridor along Highway 1 between Monterey and Marina would be built within the Monterey Branch Line rail right-of-way owned by the Transportation Agency, to provide commuters a traffic-free alternative to Highway 1. The Surf! Bus Rapid Transit project was identified in Measure X to support commuters to the Monterey Peninsula, with the goals of:

• Increasing transit service
• Reducing transit and automobile delay along Highway 1, and
• Improving air quality

Monterey-Salinas Transit has hired a consultant to prepare preliminary engineering and environmental analysis for the Surf! Bus Rapid Transit project. The Scope of Work for this contract is available as a web attachment.   This pre-construction phase kicked-off at the end of November 2019 and will extend into 2021.