REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: SCOTT L. MOZIER, PE, Director
Public Works Department
BY: Randall W. Morrison, PE, Assistant Director
Public Works Department, Engineering Division
BRIAN KUJAWSKI, Senior Engineering Inspector
Public Works Department, Construction Management Division
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to the Veterans Boulevard Grade Separation Project (Council District 2):
1. ***RESOLUTION - 49th Amendment to the Annual Appropriation Resolution (AAR) No. 2021-178 appropriating $1,949,800 for the Veterans Boulevard Grade Separation Project (Requires 5 affirmative votes) (Subject to Mayor’s veto)
2. Approve Contract Change Order No. 15 in the amount of $1,354,408 and an increase in contract time of one hundred sixteen (116) working days to Granite Construction Company, for the Veterans Boulevard Grade Separation, Project ID PW00683
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that City Council adopt the attached 49th Amendment to the Annual Appropriation Resolution (AAR) No. 2021-178 and approve Contract Change Order No. 15 with Granite Construction Company of Fresno, California (Granite) for a total increase in contract amount of $1,354,408 and an increase in contract time of one hundred sixteen (116) working days for the Veterans Boulevard Grade Separation Project.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Staff recommends City Council approval of Contract Change Order No. 15 for the Veterans Boulevard Grade Separation Project to construct traffic signal safety lighting infrastructure and an asphalt pavement access road from existing Golden State Boulevard to the proposed realigned future of Golden State Boulevard for the purpose of providing temporary access to the newly constructed bridge crossing over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks and connecting to Bullard Extension/Riverside Drive.
City Council approval of Contract Order No. 15 provides vehicular access to Veterans Boulevard Grade Separation and allows the Contractor to reconstruct existing Carnegie Avenue per the Contract Plans which cuts off access over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks at Carnegie Avenue and Golden State Boulevard per the City’s agreement with the Railroad. The proposed change order will be fully funded by the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) with available contingency funds under the HSR 16-57 funding agreement.
BACKGROUND
Veterans Boulevard, originally referred to as the Herndon-Grantland Diagonal, was originally part of the 1984 General Plan and is now a planned six-lane super arterial in the 2035 General Plan. In recent years, staff has completed the Project Study Report (PSR), Project Report and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and progressed the design of the various phases of Veterans Boulevard from Shaw Avenue to Herndon Avenue. Partnerships with the Fresno County Transportation Authority (FCTA) and Fresno Council of Governments (FCOG) provided funding for completing the final design and right-of-way acquisition. The Project proposes a new partial cloverleaf interchange connecting State Route 99 and Veterans Boulevard. The new roadway will have six travel lanes, a Class I bicycle lane/pedestrian trail on one side and Class II bicycle lanes on both sides. The project will include bridge structures for the overcrossing of State Route 99 and future Golden State Boulevard and one to cross over the existing UPRR tracks and the future HSR tracks.
The EIR for the California HSR Project's Merced to Fresno segment included the selection of an at-grade alignment just west of the UPRR tracks through much of northwest Fresno including the area near Shaw Avenue, Carnegie Avenue and the Veterans Boulevard alignment. At locations such as Shaw Avenue, the HSR project proposes to construct a grade separation to carry Shaw Avenue over the UPRR and HSR tracks. This is also the case at other locations along the HSR corridor such as Herndon Avenue (underpass) to the north and further south at McKinley Avenue (overpass), Olive Avenue (overpass), Tulare Street (underpass), Ventura Avenue (underpass) and Church Avenue (overpass). Carnegie Avenue is a short street segment between Golden State Boulevard and Bullard Avenue which was deemed to be infeasible for a grade separation at that location, due to the close proximity of Golden State and Bullard Avenues. The high volume of traffic utilizing Carnegie Avenue made it also infeasible to close the crossing and re-route as far as Herndon and Shaw Avenues. The City Administration, City staff and CHSRA representatives developed a solution which is set forth in the EIR for the Merced to Fresno segment, of mitigating the Carnegie Avenue at-grade railroad crossing closure through constructing Veterans Boulevard between Golden State Boulevard and Bullard Avenue, including the Bullard Avenue extension from Carnegie to Bullard Avenues. City staff and CHSRA representatives have agreed it makes much more sense for the City to construct the Veterans Boulevard grade separation and Bullard Avenue extension given that it is part of the larger City project and will ensure compatibility with subsequent phases of Veterans Boulevard. The City Council approved the cooperative funding agreement for the Veterans Boulevard Project with CHSRA on November 17, 2016. The agreement allows for the City to construct the facility with the CHSRA to pay 100% of all construction costs including City bidding costs, construction management, inspection and testing. The agreement was amended in 2020 to include additional funding when the City awarded the construction contract for the Veterans Grade Separation.
The first phase of the Veterans Boulevard Project, the Bullard Extension package, which was also funded by the CHSRA, was opened to traffic on September 24, 2019. The Veterans Boulevard Grade Separation Project is the second phase of the overall project and the last phase needed to complete the HSR related work. The construction work of this package will result in two lanes of Veterans Boulevard; a bridge structure over the existing UPRR and future HSR tracks, and a roadway connection from Veterans Boulevard to future Golden State Boulevard. The project is currently at 97% completion of the original scope items yet will not be able to open up to traffic, without the addition of a temporary connection to existing Golden State Boulevard. When the City bid the project, it was assumed that the new Golden State Boulevard would be in service by the completion of the Grade Separation. For several reasons the High Speed Rail Project contractor has not been able to complete their work on Golden State Boulevard so the City proposes this additional work in order to complete our contract work.
On March 05, 2020, a Contract was awarded in the amount of $20,038,376 to Granite Construction Company, for the Veterans Boulevard Grade Separation Project. The Notice to Proceed was issued with a starting date of May 20, 2020, and a completion date of October 21, 2020. There have been fourteen Contract Change Orders executed to date for a total amount of $431,221 and an increase in the Contract Time of thirty working days (30), twenty-four (24) suspension days and twenty-three (23) weather days for a net change of 2.2% of the original contract price. Contract Change Order No. 15 will increase the contract amount by $1,354,408, an increase of 6.7%, and increase the contract time by one hundred sixteen (116) working days for the Veterans Boulevard Grade Separation Project.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
On March 5, 2020, the City Council adopted findings pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15091 and 15093 as required by CEQA Guidelines Section 15096. Based upon these findings, it has been determined that a subsequent EIR is not required for this approval.
The California Department of Transportation, as Lead Agency, prepared an EIR for the Veterans Boulevard/State Route Interchange Project/Veterans Boulevard Grade Separation Project, identified by SCH No. 2010021054 (the “Veterans Boulevard EIR”). The Veterans Boulevard EIR was certified on June 16, 2013, and analyzed several components of the Veterans Boulevard project, including but not limited to a new interchange at State Route 99 and Veterans Boulevard, grade separated crossings to connect Veterans Boulevard and Golden State Boulevard, the construction of Veterans Boulevard as a six-lane super arterial from West Shaw to Herndon Avenues, drainage basins, and landscaping.
An analysis has been performed pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15162 to determine whether subsequent environmental review is required for this project. Based upon this analysis the following findings were made to support the determination that no subsequent environmental review is required:
1. No substantial changes are proposed in the project which will require major revisions to the EIR due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects because the project is being implemented as planned.
2. No substantial changes occurred with respect to the circumstances under which the project was undertaken which will require major revisions to the EIR due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects.
3. There is no new information, which was not known and could not have been known at the time of the previous EIR showing that:
a. The project will have one or more significant effects not discussed in the previous EIR;
b. Significant effects previously examined will be substantially more severe than shown in the previous EIR;
c. Mitigation measures or alternatives previously found to be not feasible are now feasible and would substantially reduce one or more significant effects of the project.
Based upon these findings, it has been determined that a subsequent EIR is not required the Project.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference is not applicable because the approval of a Contract Change Order does not entail a competitive bidding process.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Veterans Boulevard Project, which is located in Council District 2, will have no impact on the General Fund. The overall Veterans Boulevard Project is being funded through CHSRA funding, various types of Measure C funding, Regional Transportation Mitigation Impact Fees (RTMF), State and Federal grant funds and City of Fresno Development Impact Fees. This contract falls under the Veterans Boulevard Grade Separation Project scope and is included in the cooperative funding agreement with CHSRA. The overall cost associated with the contract change order is $1,354,408.00, which is within the project contingency amount identified in the CHSRA funding agreement. Adoption of the attached AAR amendment resolution will appropriate the necessary funding needed from CHSRA to complete the project.
Attachments:
Contract Change Order No. 15
49th Amendment to the Annual Appropriation Resolution No. 2021-178