DATE: July 19, 2016
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Director of Public Works
SUBJECT
Title
Mission Boulevard and Blanche Street & Gading Road and Huntwood Way Intersections Safety Improvements: Award of Contract
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
1. That Council adopts the attached resolution (Attachment I) awarding the contract to W. Bradley Electric, Inc., in the amount of $688,268; and authorizing the expenditure of an additional $40,000 on this contract for contingencies, and design and administration costs; and
2. Appropriates an additional $100,000 for this project from the Transportation System Improvement Fund and $154,268 from the Street System Improvement Fund.
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BACKGROUND
A City-wide traffic safety improvement study identified the need for improvements at the intersections of Mission Boulevard/Blanche Street, as well as Gading Road/Huntwood Way.
At the intersection of Mission Boulevard/Blanche Street, the pedestrian crosswalk is unprotected across four lanes of Mission Boulevard. This crosswalk is used by school children going to and from Conley-Caraballo High School. At the intersection of Gading Road/Huntwood Way, there is an unsafe left turn movement from Huntwood Way into Gading Road, and an unprotected left turn movement from Gading Road into Huntwood Way. The project location map is referenced in Attachment II.
In early 2013, staff applied for federal Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funding and received $396,000 to improve the above mentioned intersections. On May 17, 2016, Council approved the plans and specifications for the Mission Boulevard/Blanche Street and Gading Road/Huntwood Way Safety Improvements. Staff subsequently called for bids to be received on June 14, 2016.
DISCUSSION
Collision data demonstrated a pattern of high-collision incidents at the above noted intersections. Broadside, sideswipe, rear-end, and vehicle-pedestrian collisions were the most common type of collisions at these intersections. Expressed community concerns and requests for improvements have been consistent with the collision data. This improvement project is intended to mitigate the identified safety issues.
The improvements to be performed at the Mission Boulevard/Blanche Street intersection include a pedestrian-activated hybrid beacon, high-intensity crosswalk signal, and updated crosswalk striping. This will bring greater driver awareness to the presence of pedestrians. This intersection meets the warrants for a full traffic signal system. The future Mission Boulevard Corridor Improvements project that is currently under design will make additional modifications to this intersection for a full traffic signal system.
The Gading Road/Huntwood Way intersection will receive a new traffic signal system, which will provide a signalized intersection and protected left turn movements into Gading Road/Huntwood Way. In addition to the specific improvements described above, this project will also reconstruct curb ramps that are not ADA compliant and restripe crosswalks in the immediate project area.
Since this project is partly funded with federal funds, the federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program applies. The DBE has transitioned to a race-conscious DBE program, which will apply to this project. Contract goals will include all DBE groups whose members are certified as socially and economically disadvantaged. This project will have a contract goal of 5.1% DBE participation.
On June 14, 2016, four bids were received for the Mission Boulevard/ Blanche Street and Gading Road/Huntwood Way Intersections Safety Improvements project. W. Bradley Electric, Inc. of Novato, California, submitted the low bid of $688,268, which is 56% above the engineer’s estimate of $440,000. Columbia Electric, Inc. of San Leandro, California submitted the second low bid in the amount of $700,000, which is 59% above the engineer’s estimate. The bids range from $668,268 to $823,565 (see Attachment III).
Staff met with the design consultant to discuss the reasons for discrepancy between the engineer’s estimate and the low bid. Staff concluded that the construction economy has changed significantly from the original engineer’s cost estimate completed three years ago. However, a comparative review of the two lowest bids received shows consistency in the high cost of the various project components. This would indicate that the engineer underestimated the current market economy. For this reason, staff believes that re-bidding this project would not yield significant savings. Moreover, safety concerns that would be mitigated by this project are significant and any additional delays are not recommended.
All bid documents and licenses are in order. Staff recommends award of contract to the low bidder, W. Bradley Electric, Inc., in the amount of $688,268, and authorization for an additional $40,000 for contingencies, and design and administration costs.
This project is categorically exempt from environmental review under Section 15301 (c) of the California Environmental Quality Act guidelines for the operation, repair, maintenance, or minor alteration of existing facilities. Additionally, the Local Assistance Branch of Caltrans concurs that this project is categorically excluded from the National Environmental Policy Act.
FISCAL IMPACT
The estimated project costs are as follows:
The Adopted FY 2016 Capital Improvement Program includes $474,000 for the project in the Transportation System Improvements Fund (460). However, the estimated project costs are $728,268 as noted above. Therefore, staff recommends that an additional $100,000 be appropriated from Fund 460 - Transportation Systems Improvement and $154,268 from Fund 450 - Streets System Improvements to complete the project. Both funds contain adequate fund balances to accommodate this additional appropriation. Staff will look into potential savings that may exist in implementing the project, including providing material to the contractor from the City’s storage inventory, and negotiating appropriate reductions in cost. However, awarding the project at this time will allow the project to move forward and mitigate public safety concerns.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Because of the temporary inconvenience that is expected from the improvement work, after the construction contract is awarded, staff will post and distribute preliminary notices explaining the project to residents and businesses along the affected streets. After the construction work has been scheduled, a detailed notice indicating the date and time of work for each street will be distributed to all affected residents and businesses.
COMPLETE STREETS
This project considers all users of the public right-of-way in addition to motorists. The existing accommodations such as transit facilities, bicycle facilities, sidewalk, and street lighting will not be affected by the project. This project will upgrade existing curb ramps that are not ADA compliant, and will restripe bicycle lanes and crosswalks. These measures are consistent with the City’s adopted Complete Streets Policy, which requires that consideration be given to all users of the street, in addition to vehicular traffic.
SCHEDULE
Prepared by: Yaw Owusu, Assistant City Engineer
Staff contact
Recommended by: Morad Fakhrai, Director of Public Works
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Approved by:
Fran David, City Manager
Attachments:
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Attachment I |
Resolution |
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Attachment II |
Project Map |
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Attachment III |
Bid Summary |