CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
title
Approve the award of Change Order #1 to Contract 18-178, Royal Saint George Water Main replacement, to Copenhaver Construction for an additional 180 days
body
DEPARTMENT: Water Utilities
SUBMITTED BY: Mark Curran, Interim Director
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
In September 2018, the City Council awarded Contract 18-178 to Copenhaver Construction (Copenhaver) in the amount of $475,386.78 for the replacement of 900 feet of 10-inch watermain on Royal St. George between Cress Creek Park and Flossmoor Court. This segment of watermain experienced a number of breaks disrupting utility service to the area. Replacing the watermain will provide long lasting service and restore reliability. The substantial completion date for the work was November 16, 2018.
DISCUSSION:
A notice to proceed was issued to Copenhaver on October 1, 2018 to begin work. Following the notice to proceed, Copenhaver approached City staff to request a change in the construction method used to install the new watermain. In an effort to value engineer the project, Copenhaver proposed to install the watermain by a directional drilling method. The method would be done in lieu of the open-cut method specified in the contract. By directionally drilling the watermain, there would be less surface disturbance to restore, less impact to residents and an overall net savings to the City.
Knowing subsurface conditions in the area, staff was cautious of directional drilling; however, with the contractor’s assurances and anticipated savings to the project, staff tentatively agreed to the proposal. Mobilization to begin work was delayed while the contractor coordinated the change in method, including ordering materials and scheduling the directional drilling contractor.
Work officially commenced on October 24, 2018. However, after the excavation work began, Copenhaver and its directional boring subcontractor determined the directional drilling method was not feasible due to difficult subsurface conditions and the watermain would need to be installed using the open-cut method specified in the contract. The expended cost associated with directional drilling was fully absorbed by the contractor at no additional costs to the City.
The situation exposed another potential issue for the construction of the watermain. When installing new facilities, it is a goal of Water Utilities to preserve large diameter trees within the project limits during construction operations. Given the difficulty of digging around trees due to conflicts with existing utilities, directional drilling short sections of pipe below trees was viewed as the most practical solution during the design phase. However, as construction began, the directional drilling subcontractor determined directional drilling anywhere within the project limits was not feasible due to poorer than expected soil conditions. The Water Utilities is currently working with Department of Public Works Forestry Division to evaluate alternatives for installation of the water main without removing trees.
A time extension of 180 days past the November 16, 2018 completion date is requested, which will allow the project to be constructed under more favorable weather conditions. Staff does not anticipate any major impact on current water operations as a result of the time extension. More importantly, the time extension will also allow time for staff and the contractor to work with Forestry on a satisfactory resolution for installation of the water main around the trees. The new completion date will be May 15, 2019.
FISCAL IMPACT:
CIP#: WU04 - Water Distribution System Rehab/Replace
The water main replacement on Royal Saint George is expensed to the infrastructure account as part of the annual capital improvement program. A total of $1,200,000 is budgeted for WU04 in CY2018. The requested change order requires no additional expenses to the original contract and remains within budget.
|
Account Number |
Fund Description |
Total Budget Amount |
|
41251500-551502 |
Water & Wastewater Fund |
$10,567,500 |
*Per Council directive, contingency on construction projects is set at 3% on projects over $500,000 and 5% on projects under $500,000