REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: DENIX D. ANBIAH, PE, Director
Capital Projects Department
SCOTT L. MOZIER, PE, Director
Public Works Department
BY: Scott p. sehm, PE, Assistant Director
Capital Projects Department, Design Services & Transportation Project Management Division
GUSTAVO RANGEL, Project Manager
Capital Projects Department, Transportation Project Management Division
SUBJECT
Title
Reject all bids for the Merced Street Reconnection Project (Bid File No. 12501885). (Council District 3)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council reject all bids for the Merced Street Reconnection Project and direct staff to rebid the project.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Staff recommends the City Council reject all bids for the Merced Street Reconnection Project. Upon rejection of all bids, staff will immediately work to rebid the project.
The Merced Street Reconnection Project will re-establish a previously existing segment of Merced Street, between H Street and Congo Alley, and extend Broadway Street from its current terminus, in front of Masten Towers, to intersect with the proposed Merced Street reconnection. Originally advertised in April 2025 and taken to Council for award in June, the selected general contractor has been unable or unwilling to submit the required insurance paperwork needed to execute the contract and start construction resulting in a withdrawal of the contract due to their failure to comply/non-response. Staff has determined that rejecting all bids and re-advertising the project is the best course of action to move the project into construction.
The construction contract is funded by Measure C Transit Oriented Development Grant (TOD) with local match through Measure C Flexible Funds. This project will have no impact to the General Fund.
BACKGROUND
In October of 2018, the City of Fresno (City) adopted the Downtown Specific Plans which identifies the need for the Merced Street Reconnection Project (Project). The Project will construct and reestablish an approximate 600-foot segment of Merced Street, between H Street and Congo Alley. In addition, a 230-foot northerly extension of Broadway Street will carry traffic through to the Merced Street extension from its current terminus at the Broadway Street connector roadway (280-feet north of Fresno Street), intersecting with the Merced Street extension. These segments of Merced Street and Broadway Street previously existed as evidenced by the existing street right-of-way for both streets.
The total agreement for professional engineering services with Provost & Pritchard Consulting Group, including the First Amendment to the Consultant Agreement, is $136,270, with a remaining contingency of $5,800. The design phase commenced in July 2022. Topographic surveying, project management, preparation of construction documents, and development of project specifications took approximately 30 months to complete.
The Notice Inviting Bids was published in the Business Journal on April 1, 2025, and posted on the City’s website. Six (6) sealed bid proposals were received and opened in the public bid opening on May 6, 2025, with bids ranging from $1,216,898.25 to $1,807,817.15. Fortis General Construction, Incorporated, of Atwater, CA was deemed the lowest responsive and responsible bidder.
On June 12, 2025 Council awarded a construction contract to Fortis General Construction, Incorporated, of Atwater, California for the Merced Street Reconnection Project as ID 25-754. Despite numerous attempts by city staff to work with Fortis General Construction to obtain the required insurance and compliance documents needed to issue the Notice to Proceed, including extending deadlines two times for a total of 95 days, it was determined that the contractor is unwilling or unable to perform the scope of work for which they were selected and has been deemed non-responsible. On September 23, 2025, a letter of Notice of Award Withdrawal was sent to Fortis General Construction for failure to provide said documents.
During the bid evaluation, the second-lowest bidder was deemed non-responsive for failing to submit a complete bid proposal package, however they were not officially notified of this determination. Due to the length of time since the original bid as well as minor changes in the bid documents that have resulted from subsequent coordination issues with the design and project management teams working on the parking structure at Merced and Fulton Street, staff feels that rejecting all bids and rebidding the Merced Reconnection project is the best course of action to achieve a fair and competitive bid for the project.
Staff recommends Council reject all bids for the Merced Street Reconnection project and direct staff to rebid the project.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
By the definition provided in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, Section 15378, the rejection of all bids does not qualify as a “project” as defined by the CEQA requirements.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference is not applicable due to the State funding requirements.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Merced Street Reconnection project is located in Council District 3. Rejection of all bids will result in additional staff costs to rebid the project. Additional local funding may be required to cover the anticipated additional costs. The project is funded by a Measure C Transit Oriented Development Grant (TOD) with required local match funded by Measure C Flexible funding. There will be no impact to the General Fund.
Attachments:
Procurement Evaluation Form and Fiscal Impact Statement
Vicinity Map