AgdaPkt 2003-08-11 - Laserfiche WebLink

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REPORT.""'," ' l m t M% .. August 11, 2003 Subject Award of Contract — Route 101 /Ralston Avenue Interchange Improvements Project Engineering File No. 803 -02 Recommendation Approve the Contract Documents and award the contract for Route 101 /Ralston Avenue Interchange Improvements Project, to the lowest responsible bidder, O.C. Jones & Sons, Inc. of Berkeley, California, for their low bid of $12,426,983. And authorize the City Manager to execute Change Orders in the cumulative total not to exceed 10% of the contract amount. Background This contract is the main construction contract for the subject project and is one of the biggest construction projects in Redwood City's Capital Improvement Program in recent history. Many actions have been taken by the Council in preparation for this contract, with the most recent being the financial arrangements and the right -of -way issues. By awarding this contract, the City will effectively obligate the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) funding that was received for the project. The funds ($7.6 million) have to be obligated by the end of September, or they will be taken back by the State. The project will improve the efficiency of this interchange during peak traffic hours by minimizing the need for motorists to weave in and out of traffic lanes to get to their destinations. This will be achieved by eliminating the off -ramp loops, and bringing the traffic to two new signalized intersections. Island Parkway will also be realigned and connect directly to Marine Parkway at one of the new off -ramps intersection. This direct connection will be bridged above the north bound (NB) on -ramp from Marine Parkway. The on -ramp traffic will not be affected, except for the addition of one lane to the NB from Marine Parkway (total of two regular, plus one high- occupancy lanes). The project was bid with two design alternatives. The alternatives deal with the Island Parkway approach to the bridge that spans the NB on -ramp. This approach can either be built using piling and concrete slab bridge or retaining walls with earth embankment. The slab bridge alternative was conceived as part of the value engineering efforts for the project. The slab bridge may be more expensive to build, but as may be proved by the bid results, time saved due to less settlement and easier temporary traffic handling out weight the additional cost. Furthermore, the utility relocation will be less complex; therefore, less costly, and access under the bridge can be valuable to the adjacent property owners. Pagel W3