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Home My WebLink About0391.092.. (1 , -, ~' . , • 0 , '. . -".'f~ . . :-. september 3, 1992 THE HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL Palo Alto, California 1 Alma st,reet/East Charl est;:m Road T:ntersect..i.Qn.-1Jnprgyc'r.lents c elP 1907l Increase j .. n Charla£: Order Authority ..f.2.r Construction Contract and Status Repo~~ Report in ~flr.ief_ This report recommends that Council approve an increase in change order authority for the Alma Street/E~st Charleston Road improvements contract and provides information on the status of the project. Background On July 6, 1992, council approved a righ-c-of-entry permit with the Joint Powers Board which authcrized the city to perform work in the East Charleston Road railroad crossing right-of-... ·ay and awarded a contract to O'Grady Paving, Inc~ for constructing street and sidewalk improvements in this area (CMR:320:92) ~ ~Jscussion of InCreas§! in Change crde!." Au~ho:z::_ill At the time of contract a ... ·ard. Council approved st.aff authority to issue change orders of. up to '$45,OOJ fer unforeseen modifications to the ..... ork by O/Grady Paving, Inc. Since the a...-ard of contract, $42,000 of additional expenditures have been identified that are described in the following three r.ategories: • Railroad ag:;ncy actions which adversely impacted the City contractor. Elt:arnples include an increase in the amounL. of I iabil i ty insurance coverage required of the contractor by t.he Joint Powers Board and a reschedule of city construction due to both the unavailability of ANTRAK flagpersons and a dela:!" in AMTRAK rubberized crossing installation. -1- CMR:391:92 • Safety An unusually long delivery time fat" signal poles has delayed completion of City -w.:ork until after the start of school. In order to provide maximum pro't.ection to school children and facilitate vehicular traffic, adcUticr.al signage, temporary paving and barricades .,ill be in5'talled. • Underground Conflic~s Addi tional street and side\o)dlk construction has beEn identified dt.<e to the discovery of unmapped obstructions including buried asphalt and tree roots . .In order to provide for an}' further justifiable extra work by thl;! contractor over the rernaininc; three \oreeKs of the proJect, it is recommended that council increase staff' s aut~jor i ty to negotiate additional change orders to contract No. C-JD32B97 with O'Grady Paving, Inc. by $15,000. This represents an increase jn staff's authority from $45,000 to $60,000 for all change orders. staff helieves tbat $15, 000 is a prudent contingency based on the nature and amounl: of olltstanding work. Discussion QL.a.lma Street IEastmCharleston HocqmIr.>1?rovement Pro~~J; and Railroad Improvements Statu§ City Improvement Project On July 6, 1992, Council also received in its report a description of the scope and timing of the Alma Street/East C:hcrl~ston Road Improveme:r.t Project. This report slated that constr .. 'ction ",'culd begin iT: July and be corr;pleted by early September. pr lor to the start of the fall school sessior.. It also indi':-atE'd that the timing of the .... ork could be delayed due to the unavailabiliti of AMTRAK inspectors and flagpersons occurring, as a res1.:.1t of the recsnt changeover in railroad owner-ship. 0.Jrrently City construction is proceedir.g as planned; however ~ because } ...... "1:TRAK did not pr-ovide inspectors or flagpersons until late August, the project will not be completed until l~te Sept~rober~ In addition, there has been a delay in the delivery of the traffic signal poles. D€livery of these poles CC!!l ta}.e from six to eight weeks depending upon the backlog of orders to be filled b::{ the supplier. Unfortunately, the sljppl iEr ,,-,as heavily backlogged and was unable to ship the poles until the end of August~ The late -2- CMR: 391:92 §~~l' ':i;~::~~~,":':' ;l-:." Oif'>'" - ~ ,.1 • I ; ! a.rrival of the poles w-ill d!?',lay firlishing th2 side''''3lk, l:igtlt-turn lane, and pavement striping until late septenbe=. Statf will take all ne~essary pr~cautiQns to protect bicyclists and pedestrians during construction. This includes providing adult orossinq guards for the morning and afternoon school com.'Tlutes and a City inspector w!lo 'Will !r'.ake periodic site visits throughout the d.ay. J..lso, City contrac..tor flr'l:gperscr-.s and an AMTRAK flagperson viII be present during any construction in the vicinity of the railroad tracks. During the fe· .... · occasions when the traffic signal lights are unoperational, Police Department personnel .ill direct traffic in the intersection. Railroad Improvements All railroad 'Warning devices have been in.c:;:talled and are operational at both the .a.lma/Charlesto1"' and Alma/Meadow grade crossings. These warning devices include the cantilevers and the vehicle and pedestrian gates. The rubberizec crossing installation ",'ill not be scheduled by the Joint Powers Board/AMTP.AK until FY 1993-94 because of the changeover in m.mershl.p of the railroad. The changeover has result 3d in a shortage of available railroad wo=kers knowledgeable in performing this: type of construction. In addition, fl.lnding for the installation will not be available until FY 1993-94~ Othe::: work associated with the rubb.;;rized crossing such as removing existing trackage and ties, compacting ballast rock and installing new rail, will be done at the same time. . Due to the delay in the chang-eover in oW"nership of t:"e railroad, the Joint Po .... 'ers Board and Southern Pacific Transportation company each issued temporary construction easeroents in lieu of permanent rights of way for the right-turn-Iane ~nd ro~d widening constructed under both the Alma/M@adow ~nd Alma/Charleston intersection projects. No'W that the ownership issue has been resolved, staff 'Will return to Council in spring 1933 · ... ith separate agreements bet~een the city and the J~int Powers Board, for per~anent rights of-way for these improvements. Staff estimates "the cost per square foot for th~ rights-of-way will be similar to the $16.00 paid to Southern Pacific for the Alma/Churchill crossing three years ago~ As a resl.I.l t, approximately $100, OeD · .... as budgeted i1'1. the Major Intersections CIP for thls purpose. -3- CMR:391:92 ;t)iiL' . :;.-", ,,---' .. .;. .. ~._~<;.-%~ .. .".t. '~~.'''~:-': - - This project Environmental quidelines. is categorically exerr.pt from the Cal ifornia Qualitj' Act (CEQA) under Section 15301 of the CEQA BeCQl!l.mendaticn staf! recommends that Council increase the City Manager's or his designeeJs authority to negotiate and execute one or ~ore additional change orders to contract No. C-3D32897 '.!lith O'Grady paving, Inc., the total value of \tJhich change orders ~hall not exceed $60,000. This represents an increase in staff"s authority from $45,000 to $60,000 for all change orders. Respectfully submitted, .4 ,vr7_h /~j[ j~~"~- GEORGE"'BAGDON '" JI..ssistant Director ~f Public Works :r Li.' l ~ ~~ --c(,'~.:--J \:';~ ~,~C~------- DAVID G. ADAMS Director of Public Works :1 6.--~ I I OPE FLEMING istant City cc: Palo Alto Bicycle AdvisD~y CDrr~ittee City School Traffic Safety committee Palo Alto Unified Schoc,l District Related CMR: 320:92 -4- CMR:391:92 •