AGENDA DATE: 11/4/2015
TITLE:
Title
Crozet Avenue North, State Farm Boulevard and South Pantops Drive Sidewalks Project
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Request to re-bid sidewalks project
ITEM TYPE: Consent Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Foley, Letteri, Davis, Henry, and Kelsey
PRESENTER (S): N/A
LEGAL REVIEW: Yes
REVIEWED BY: Thomas C. Foley
BACKGROUND: The Office of Facilities Development conducted the bid opening for the following Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Revenue Sharing projects on August 4, 2015: Crozet Avenue North, State Farm Boulevard and South Pantops Drive Sidewalks Project. These projects are combined into one VDOT project code and were required to be bid and managed together. Only three (3) bids were received and the apparent low bid exceeded the project budget by approximately $300,000. Analysis of the bids indicated that the cost of improvements was very high on all bids. The individual unit prices varied considerably; however, if a price was high, it was generally more than 25 percent higher than the consultant’s estimated value. In follow-up calls to contractors who did not submit bids, staff learned that there were many projects (public and private) on the market and contractors had to prioritize and choose which ones to pursue. It is staff’s conclusion that bidders believed that it was not going to be very competitive and priced their bids accordingly. The County’s consultant also learned from other localities and from VDOT that the market is extremely busy and that they are also noticing recent price increases.
STRATEGIC PLAN: Goal 2. Critical Infrastructure. Prioritize, plan and invest in critical infrastructure that responds to past and future changes and improves the capacity to serve community needs.
DISCUSSION: Staff has discussed the bid results with VDOT and agreed that the current bids had to be rejected due to their exceeding the final construction cost estimate by more than 10% (VDOT policy) as well as exceeding the project budget. Staff believes it is unlikely that the current market would support a lower price if the project were re-bid exactly as it is currently, and that in order to move forward, the project must be modified and then re-bid.
The options discussed with VDOT were to: (1) build only the Crozet Avenue North sidewalk; (2) build only the State Farm Boulevard and South Pantops Drive sidewalk; (3) fully fund the project with the County making up the difference in cost (~$300K); or (4) build the Crozet Avenue North sidewalk based on the current plans but reduce the scope of the State Farm Boulevard sidewalk to build only the portion of new sidewalk between Route 250 (Richmond Road) and Hickman Road, and bid the South Pantops Drive sidewalk as an additive alternate (Attachment A). Option 4 allows the de-scoped portion of State Farm Boulevard to be built at a later date once fully funded.
Based on the bids, options 1, 2, and 4 may reduce the cost to stay within the current project budget. Staff’s preference and recommendation is option 4, to build the Crozet Avenue North sidewalk based on the current plans, to de-scope the State Farm Boulevard project to build only the portion of new sidewalk across the developed parcels between Route 250 and Hickman Road, and to bid the South Pantops Sidewalk as an additive alternate. This would provide a pedestrian link to the traffic signal being modified by the “Chick-fil-A” site improvements (north side of Route 250) and allow for the coordination of a future pedestrian crossing with VDOT.
Staff discussed the above options and recommendation with the Crozet Advisory Committee at its September 16, 2015 meeting and the Pantops Advisory Committee at its September 28, 2015 meeting. The completion of their respective sidewalks are very important to those Committees, as they are improvements recommended in the Committees’ “Master Plans,” they provide for pedestrian mobility in their “Plan” areas, and they help to establish the framework for future development/redevelopment. The Pantops Advisory Committee was supportive of staff’s recommendation, provided there was a commitment made to pursue the funding needed to complete the State Farm Boulevard portion of the sidewalk project in the near future.
Should the Board approve staff re-bidding the project as set forth in option 4, staff recommends including the South Pantops Drive sidewalk portion as an additive alternate in the Invitation for Bids in the event the bids for the full scope of option 4 come in higher than expected. With the Board’s concurrence, staff will begin modifying the bid documents for an advertisement in December.
BUDGET IMPACT: If the Board approves option 1, 2, or 4, the re-bid project should stay within the existing, appropriated budget. If the Board approves appropriating additional funds to fully fund the project (option 3), staff will return with an appropriation request in December. Any remaining Revenue Sharing funds at the close of the project could then be re-allocated to any active County Revenue Sharing project.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Board authorize staff to re-bid the project based on option 4 with the Crozet North Avenue plans as they are currently, the reduction of the scope of the State Farm Boulevard sidewalk to build only the portion of new sidewalk between Route 250 (Richmond Road) and Hickman Road, and with the inclusion of the South Pantops Drive sidewalk as an additive alternate.
ATTACHMENTS:
A - Sketch of State Farm Boulevard Modifications