title
APPROVE CONTRACT CHANGE ORDER WITH GOODFELLOW TOP GRADE CONSTRUCTION, LLC FOR THE THORNTON ROAD WIDENING PROJECT
recommended action
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council approve a motion authorizing the City Manager to execute Contract Change Order No. 24, in the amount of $150,000, with Goodfellow Top Grade Construction, LLC for the Thornton Road Widening, Project No. PW1428.
It is also recommended that the City Manager be authorized to take appropriate and necessary actions to carry out the purpose and intent of this motion.
body
Summary
On July 26, 2016, by Resolution No. 2016-07-26-1212, Council approved a Construction Contract with Goodfellow Top Grade Construction, LLC, in the amount of $11,618,705, for construction of the Thornton Road Widening project. The project was included in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016-21 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).
The Thornton Road Widening project (Attachment A - Vicinity Map) was originally scheduled to be completed by November 2017. Construction delays primarily related to utility conflicts and poor weather extended the project completion date by approximately one year. Construction of the west side of the Thornton Road Widening project is now complete and the entire project is scheduled to be completed by November 2018. Twenty-three change orders have been approved under the administrative change order authority in the original contract. These change orders were generally needed to facilitate utility adjustments, conduct subsurface inspections, protect utilities, and for additional overhead costs. CCO No. 24 with Goodfellow Top Grade Construction, LLC, in the amount of $150,000, is to install concrete caps over shallow utilities that will be encountered when building the east half of the roadway. Council approval is needed for CCO No. 24, as the cumulative amount of CCOs Nos. 1 through 24 will exceed the administrative CCO authority (Attachment B - Contract Change Order No. 24).
Staff recommends Council authorize the City Manager to execute CCO No. 24, in the amount of $150,000, with Goodfellow Top Grade Construction, LLC for construction of the Thornton Road Widening, Project No. PW1428. Upon approval of CCO No. 24, the Council authorized total contract value will be $12,925,043.88, the original contract amount plus cumulative total of CCOs Nos. 1 through 24. New administrative change order authority of $1,357,504.34 will be established based on the new total contract value. Staff continues to work with the contractor and utilities to clear all utility obstructions on the project. Additional unforeseen costs related to the existence of shallow utilities and associated delays to the project are likely to occur in completion of the project. Depending on the degree of additional complications experienced in the field, additional changes orders may be presented for Council consideration.
DISCUSSION
Background
Thornton Road is an important arterial within the City of Stockton providing north-south access from Eight Mile Road to Hammer Lane. The City is the lead agency for delivering the Thornton Road Widening project. The project was included in the FY 2016-21 CIP.
On September 11, 2007, by Resolution No. 07-0383, Council authorized the execution of an Amendment to the Professional Services Master Contract with Stantec for final design of the Thornton Road Widening project. The project construction was originally anticipated in 2010. However, Measure K funds planned for the project were not available due to the recession, and the project was placed on hold.
With an improved economy in 2014, the San Joaquin Council of Governments (SJCOG) informed the City the project could be funded using Measure K bond revenue. Council authorized executing a Measure K Renewal Financing Agreement between the City of Stockton and the SJCOG to fund the Thornton Road Widening project on May 19, 2015, by Resolution No. 2015-05-19-1205. The resolution also approved an Amendment to the Professional Services Master Contract with Stantec, in the amount of $149,836, to update existing plans and specifications, environmental documents, permits, provide bidding support, and provide limited design support during construction of the project.
On July 26, 2016, by Resolution No. 2016-07-26-1212, Council awarded a Construction Contract for the Thornton Road Widening project to Goodfellow Top Grade Construction, LLC in the amount of $11,618,705. Construction began in October 2016.
The Thornton Road Widening project is designed to be constructed in three phases. Construction of the west side of Thornton Road is the first phase of work. The second phase is construction of the east side of Thornton Road, with the final phase being the installation of medians.
Shallow utilities were uncovered while constructing phase one of the project which has significantly delayed the project. PG&E underground electric and gas facilities, AT&T fiber optic duct banks, a City water supply line, and other incidental utilities are located within the project’s work limits. Initial excavation work determined that a portion of these utilities were shallow and in conflict with the zone of excavation and reconstruction for the roadway section. The contractor performed additional exploratory utility excavations (utility potholing) to confirm the extent and nature of the shallow utility conflicts. The project design engineer, Stantec, redesigned the roadway section and portions of the traffic signal, lighting, and storm systems to resolve utility obstructions on the project. This redesign and modified construction method to avoid shallow utilities caused significant delays to the project.
The Thornton Road Widening project was originally scheduled to be completed by approximately November 2017, based on allowable construction days. This date did not account for delays due to weather, material delivery impacts, additional work, or unforeseen circumstances. These factors would typically result in relatively minor delays, and at the beginning of the project it was expected that the actual completion would be in early 2018. This completion date is now estimated to be November 2018, due to delays that are categorized as follows:
Project Suspension (three months): The discovery of shallow utilities in phase one of the project required additional utility potholing and a redesign of portions of the project to resolve utility obstructions. This prevented the contractor from completing scheduled work for three months.
Weather delays (four months): Projects routinely experience delays due to inclement weather. On the average, two months of weather related delays per year can be expected on larger projects. The Thornton Road Widening project is expected to incur four months of weather delays over a two-year construction season.
Utility delays (two months): Some utility obstructions could not be fixed through redesign efforts. Various utilities mobilized to relocate their facilities out of the path of the contractor’s work. The relocation process, along with customer notification notice timelines, caused delays to the contractor’s work schedule.
Utility Protection Work (three months): A new roadway section design and shallow utility precautionary measures were added to the project. As a precaution, the contractor had to install concrete protective caps over existing shallow utilities as part of building the roadway. In addition, restrictions on the weight and construction methods over shallow utilities were added. The precautionary measures will add more time to build the roadway and will delay the projects’ completion by three months.
Present Situation
The project is approximately 50 percent complete. The contractor recently completed the west side of Thornton Road and has started building the east side of the project (phase two). Staff has coordinated with the contractor, designer, and utility companies to resolve utility issues on the project and mitigate delays to the extent possible.
Construction CCO No.’s 1-23, in the amount of $1,156,338.38, were previously approved under the administrative change order authority allowed under the original contract. These change orders were needed to facilitate utility adjustments, conduct subsurface inspection, protect utilities, and pay overhead costs due to the contractor during project suspension.
CCO No. 24 with Goodfellow Top Grade Construction, LLC, in the amount of $150,000, is required to install concrete caps over shallow utilities that will be encountered when building the east half of the roadway. This price was negotiated with the contractor by City staff and the City’s construction management consultant, and is considered to be reasonable. Council approval is needed for CCO No. 24, as the cumulative amount of CCOs Nos. 1 through 24 will exceed the administrative CCO authority allowed under the original contract. The original contract amount is $11,618,705. CCO No. 24, when added to previous change orders which total $1,156,338.38, will bring the construction total to $12,925,043.38.
Staff recommends Council authorize the City Manager to execute CCO No. 24, in the amount of $150,000, with Goodfellow Top Grade Construction Inc. for the construction of the Thornton Road Widening, Project No. PW1428. Upon approval of CCO No. 24, the Council authorized total contract value will be $12,925,043.38. New administrative change order authority of $1,357,504.34 will be established based on the new total contract value. Staff continues to work with the contractor and utilities to clear all utility obstructions on the project. Additional unforeseen costs related to the existence of shallow utilities and associated delays to the project are likely to occur while completing the project. Additional change orders may be presented for Council consideration depending on the degree of additional complications experienced in the field.
Staff has been working diligently to document and review all utility and design related issues that have contributed to project delays. A full accounting of the delays and associated cost impacts will not be known until the Thornton Road Widening project is completed. Staff and the City Attorney’s Office are presently addressing a potential course of action needed to recover any unnecessary utility related cost overruns.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
The cost of CCO No. 24, in the amount of $150,000, will be funded by Measure K funds (080-3020-640) already allocated to the project. There is an unencumbered balance of $2,642,000 remaining in the project, which is sufficient to fund the CCO No. 24, in the amount of $150,000, with Goodfellow Top Grade Construction Inc.
There is no impact to the City’s General Fund or to any other unrestricted fund as a result of taking the recommended action.
Attachment A - Vicinity Map
Attachment B - Contract Change Order No. 24