The City Council this week on Oct. 12, 2026, unanimously approved an agreement with the Orange County Transportation Authority for the I-405 improvement project. The agreement is for reimbursements to the city by the OCTA related to the project. The council also approved a budget amendment of $90,000.
This was a Consent Calendar item. The council doesn’t talk about consent items unless a council member pulls one individual discussion. This item was not pulled.
Background
The council approved a cooperative agreement with the OCTA for the freeway project on July 29, 2016, according to the staff report by Senior Engineer David Spitz.
“The Project provided one (1) additional general-purpose lane and two (2) toll lanes in each direction between the westerly Orange County limits and the City of Costa Mesa,” Spitz wrote.
“The Agreement outlined the responsibilities of both the City and OCTA throughout the course of the Project and provided the financial mechanism for the City to receive reimbursement funds for staff time, consultant assistance, and pavement restoration upon completion. The Agreement further provided $120,600 in reimbursement funds for the City and consulting services for the duration of the Project with amendment options, as necessary,” Spitz wrote.
“The City executed seven (7) amendments to the Agreement, each amendment providing more term and more compensation to the Agreement. The most recent Amendment, Amendment No. 7, brought the total compensation to $958,600, with the term to expire on December 31, 2025,” Spitz wrote.
“OCTA had anticipated Amendment No. 7 would provide sufficient compensation and term to close out the Project; therefore, no further amendments were executed prior to the Agreement expiration date of December 31, 2025. While all construction-related activities have concluded, final construction improvement acceptance and Freeway Agreement approvals remain outstanding,” Spitz wrote.
“Completion of these remaining close-out activities will require continued staff and consultant time to complete. OCTA has requested the City enter into a new Cooperative Agreement (New Agreement) to reimburse for staff, legal consultation and consultant support costs in relation to these final Project close-out items,” Spitz wrote.
“The term of the New Agreement will be in full force and effect through December 31, 2027. Total compensation for reimbursement for the New Agreement will be in the amount of $90,000,” Spitz wrote.
“Under the New Agreement, OCTA will reimburse the City for Project-related expenditures up to a maximum of $90,000. Budget Amendment BA #27-04-01 will allocate $90,000 for this agreement,” Spitz wrote.