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AMENDMENT NO. FOUR TO CONTRACT K-1213-126: BY AND BETWEEN THE CITY OF NORMAN AND BENHAM DESIGN, L.L.C., (FORMERLY LEIDOS, INC.) INCREASING THE CONTRACT AMOUNT BY $22,392 FOR A REVISED CONTRACT AMOUNT OF $2,811,307 FOR ADDITIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR THE DESIGN OF WEST LINDSEY STREET PROJECT FROM 24TH AVENUE S.W. TO BERRY ROAD.
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BACKGROUND: On November 22, 2011, City Council approved Programming Resolution R-1112-63 requesting federal funds for the West Lindsey Street Improvements. This resolution states the City’s commitment to adhere to the terms and conditions of a federally funded project. Through the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments (ACOG,) the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) agreed to provide 80% of the construction cost, up to $11.5 million, and administer the construction, with the matching share from the City of Norman. In order to receive the federal funding, the City of Norman was required to enter into an agreement with ODOT to complete the design, acquire all necessary rights-of-way and relocate utilities and encroachments at 100% the City’s cost.
On August 28, 2012, the citizens of Norman voted in favor of General Obligation Bonds to finance the local share of eight transportation/stormwater improvement projects. One of the eight 2012 bond projects is West Lindsey Street from 24th Avenue S.W. to Berry Road.
The roadway portion of the project includes transportation and aesthetic improvements to Lindsey Street. The West Lindsey Street corridor between Interstate 35 and Berry Road is the most congested corridor in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. This section of West Lindsey Street has a traffic accident rate three (3) times the national average.
Proposed improvements for the roadway project include:
1. Widening West Lindsey Street from 3 lanes to 4 lanes with additional lanes at intersections
2. New bridge over Imhoff Creek
3. Continuous sidewalks on both sides of the street
4. Access management to adjacent properties
5. Multi-modal improvements including bicycle lanes
6. Aesthetic enhancements including decorative pavement, landscaping, and roadway lighting
7. Underground utilities
8. Accessibility improvements for disabled individuals
On December 18, 2012, City Council approved Contract K-1213-126 with Leidos (formerly known as SAIC), Inc. to provide engineering design services needed to prepare the West Lindsey Street Corridor Project for construction in 2016. On April 23, 2013, Council approved Contract K-1213-184 with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) to construct Phase I of the stormwater system from the Canadian River to the north side of the new SH-9E bridge over I-35. On May 28, 2013, Council approved Contract K-1213-199 with Gateway Planning Group to provide place-making and corridor planning services with a focus on economic development within the commercial corridor. On September 10, 2013, Council approved Amendment No. 1 modifying the contract with Leidos to add a raised center median with landscaping to the project. On October 22, 2013 Council approved Amendment No. 2 modifying the contract with Leidos to include the review of design alternatives proposed by the University of Oklahoma Institute for Quality Communities (IQC). Other elements of Amendment No. 2 included installing monitoring wells to monitor groundwater elevations for the design of the drainage box and the design of the relocation of the City’s water and sewer lines. October 13, 2015, Council approved Amendment No. 3 to Contract K-1213-126 addressing design issues with utility relocation including design of the Common Utility Trench (CUT), Imhoff Creek Bridge design, access management, aesthetics and splitting the project into two phases in order to maximize federal funds (see Attachment A).
The Lindsey Street 2012 Bond Project construction bid amount was $26,934,865.43. The total amount paid to date is $18,744,841.73, or 69.59% of bid amount. As of July 31, 2017, the current time utilized on the project is 389 days of an anticipated 540 day project, 72.04% of project time.
The current cost summary for the West Lindsey Street Bond Project is shown in Attachment B.
DISCUSSION: During the planning for the 2012 Bond Issue, the maximum available federal funding to the City for each year was $11.5 million. Shortly after the bond election, the maximum available federal funding was reduced to $9.7 million due to changes in the federal highway bill by Congress. In order to recover the level of federal funding, staff proposed splitting the Lindsey Street Project into two phases. Council approved the programming resolution R-1415-53 on November 25, 2014. By splitting the project, the City was able to receive additional funding in the amount of $3,734,200 in Federal Fiscal Year 2015-2016 (FFY 2016) in addition to the $9.7 million in FFY 2015, for a total of $13,434,200.
Staff directed the design consultant to revise the project engineering plans to accommodate phasing of the project. Those efforts included changes to plan sheets, quantities and summary tables. Those services were provided for under Amendment No. 3.
Amendment No. 4 to Contract K-1213-126 provides for the preparation of final plans and specifications for landscaping improvements. The conceptual landscape plans were included in the original design contract. The landscaping improvements are located in the center median and along both sides of Lindsey Street. The City chose to bid and contract the landscaping improvements separate from the ODOT administered Street and Stormwater project for the following reasons:
• Cost savings
• Quality of work and materials
• Landscaping not eligible for federal funding
• Scheduling control
The landscaped medians will include underground irrigation systems; 246 Chinese Pistache, Shumard Oak and Lacebark Elm trees; 244 Green Carpet Juniper, Sunjoy Barberry, Hamelin, Holly and Spirea shrubs; 340 ornamental grasses; and 330 ground cover plants (see attached Conceptual Plan for Landscaping and Planting).
This approach to landscaping on major road projects has been successfully utilized on previous projects in Norman including the Robinson Street Underpass, the I-35 and Main Street Interchange and the I-35 and Lindsey Street Interchange.
The additional design cost for landscaping and irrigation is $22,392. Funds are available to cover the design cost of Amendment No. 4 in the Lindsey Street Widening, Design account (050-9552-431.62-01; project BP0189). If approved, the contract amount with Benham (formerly SAIC and Leidos, Inc.) of $2,788,915 will increase to $2,811,307 (+0.8%).
If this Amendment No. 4 is approved by Council, the design process by Benham will be completed by October 13, 2017. The bid opening for the landscaping improvements will be November 16, 2017. Construction of landscaping items will begin in December 2017, and plantings should be completed by April 30, 2018. Public Works staff is working closely on this project with the City Parks and Recreation Department staff that has special skills and experience in this area.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of Amendment Four to Contract K-1213-126, between the City of Norman and Benham (formerly SAIC and Leidos, Inc.), in the amount of $22,392.