CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
title
Approve the award of Bid 23-020, Bridge and Retaining Wall Railing Maintenance, to Crossroad Construction for an amount not to exceed $386,316.00 plus a 5% contingency
body
DEPARTMENT: Transportation, Engineering and Development
SUBMITTED BY: William Novack, Director/City Engineer
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
The City maintains handrails at 39 locations throughout the city, which are found on bridges, retaining walls, culverts, and bicycle paths. The handrails are composed of various materials such as steel, aluminum, chain link fence, and wood. Additionally, these have various coatings of paint, powder coating, and galvanizing applied. The conditions of the handrails vary from very poor to very good. In 2020, the City started the Handrail Maintenance Program and improved handrails at 11 locations. Three large locations were improved in 2021 and two large locations were improved in 2022.
The handrail maintenance industry is a small and very specialized field. Many contractors know how to install new handrails, however there are only a limited number of contractors that know how to properly repair and paint handrails due to special paint processes and environmental safety factors required. The correct paint method/application ensures that the handrail won’t prematurely rust and will last for at least two decades. Further, knowing how to safely sandblast, repair, remove, and handle handrails located in highly sensitive areas such as bridges and culverts without negatively impacting rivers and streams is very important.
In January 2023, the Transportation, Engineering and Development (TED) Business Group issued Bid 23-020, Bridge and Retaining Wall Railing Maintenance, to improve the handrails at five locations. These five locations include 103rd Street, Book Road, Washington Street under BNSF, DuPage River Trail under 75th Street, and the Washington Street Pedestrian Tunnel at 75th Street.
Crossroad Construction submitted the sole bid. The bid package identified a base bid and two alternative bids. After review of the files, scope of work, and pricing received from the contractor, staff recommends award of bid package Alternative #1 for $386,316.00. This work includes additional concrete repair at Washington Street under BNSF which was excluded from the base bid.
DISCUSSION:
|
Advertisement Date: |
1/4/2023 |
Notices Sent: |
194 |
|
Opening Date: |
1/25/2023 |
Planholders: |
18 |
|
|
|
Proposals Received: |
1 |
Bids were received from the following vendors:
|
Vendor Name |
Proposed Cost |
|
Crossroads Construction |
$386,316.00 |
|
Engineer’s Estimate |
$126,780.00 |
The engineer’s estimate for this work was significantly lower than the bid received. Previously this work had been bid as lump sum for all work at a given location. This year the pricing was identified as separate pay items for various work at each location. The cost of each item was roughly 200% higher than the engineer’s estimate.
Attempting to review pricing from previous years does not provide a useable linear foot price for painting. Previous work also included replacement of fencing and other repairs in addition to refinishing.
This is the third consecutive year Crossroads Construction has been the low bidder for this work. They have been the only bidder the last two years. Prior to 2021, the City received much higher bids for this work. Crossroads came in with very favorable pricing in 2021 and 2022 but has now increased pricing to address the rising labor and material cost. As discussed earlier, the scope of work is considered a specialty item.
This work will be required to be completed in the near future. We continue to have a backlog of locations which warrant repair. Failure to complete this work this year will only delay future repairs and likely will incur a higher cost due to continued wear and increase in future prices.
The completion date of this project is November 3, 2023.
FISCAL IMPACT:
CIP #: BR032
The Bridge and Retaining Wall Handrail Maintenance program is expensed to the infrastructure account listed below. This work is related to BR032, for which $150,000 was budgeted for 2023. The requested award exceeds the amount budgeted by $236,316. Staff from TED consulted the Finance Department, who recommended moving forward with the award despite the budget difference. It is anticipated that the work can be accommodated within the total Capital Projects Fund budget.
|
Account Number |
Fund Description |
Total Budget Amount |
|
30282200-551502 |
Capital Projects |
$27,482,000 |
* Per Council directive, contingency on construction projects is set at 3% on projects over $500,000 and 5% on projects under $500,000.