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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/01/2005, C4 - TRAFFIC SIGNAL IMPROVEMENTS-CONSTRUCTION BID RESULTS I council � jNovember 1",2005 acEnaa aEpom �H� ,q CITY OF SAN LUIS O B I S P O FROM: Jay Walter,Director of Public Works Timothy Scott Bochum,Deputy Director of Public Works Prepared By: Dario Senor,City Traffic Engineer Jake Hudson, Assistant Engineer-Traffic SUBJECT: TRAFFIC SIGNAL IMPROVEMENTS —CONSTRUCTION BID RESULTS CAO RECOMMENDATION: 1) Reject all construction bids received on September 22, 2005 regarding the Broad&Pacific traffic signal installation project; and 2) Authorize the CAO to approve a revised bid package to reduce possible costs and solicit new bids from contractors; and to award the contract if bids are within the engineer's estimate of$225,000. DISCUSSION At its May 3`d,, 2005 meeting, the City Council authorized the CAO to advertise plans and specifications for the installation of a traffic signal at Broad &. Pacific Street including traffic signal modifications at Marsh and Santa Rosa, Marsh & Osos, and Traffic Signal Interconnect, Specification No: 90440. The Council also authorized the City Administrative Officer to award the construction contract if the lowest responsible bid was within the engineer's estimate. The engineer's estimate for the project was $225,000. One bid was received for the project and was opened on Thursday, September 22, 2005. The bid was $355,000 received from Lee Wilson Electric of Arroyo Grande, California. This bid.was substantially above engineer's estimate ($225;000) or.58% above the expected cost of the project. Staff has investigated reasons why such a discrepancy exists between the engineer's construction cost estimate and the actual bid that.was received for the project. Preliminary investigations have revealed that a number of factors might have led to higher than expected bid "results. These factors include but are not limited to: the current bid market and the climate in construction cost pricing and labor rates, construction restrictions placed upon the contractor, project design specifics and limited staging areas. Caltrans has just released (see excerpts in Attachment 1) a report to the California Transportation Commission that has documented a recent surge in construction costs for State projects. Statewide costs for steel, concrete and other materials have risen significantly in 2005 and have affected the cost for many projects. For July 2005, the cost of steel per unit doubled over costs seen earlier in the year: It is unknown if these current costs will continue or will correct themselves in the next few months. San Luis Obispo is experiencing similar results on project bids. However, with only one bid received, it is difficult to determine if material costs alone — or individual contractor prices—is a major factor in the project cost overage. C�1-� Traffic Signal Improvements,- Construction Bid Results Page 2 of 2 In order to check this issue, informal cost verification with a traffic signal contractor from outside the area was conducted to determine if the engineer's estimate was off base. Their determination was that the engineer's estimate was appropriate for the work except that the fluctuation in materials pricing may have affected the bid amount. Because of the extremely high cost of the bid, accepting the bid for this project is not an option at this time. Staff is recommending that the bids for the project be rejected and that the project be revised, re-bid, and advertised with additional emphasis on contractors from outside the area. The bid package will be revised to: 1) determine if there are any City construction requirements that may be discouraging contractors from bidding on the work; 2) separate out the work for each signal improvement location to determine exact cost for each; and 3) separate out non-essential work such as the intersection paving that may be accomplished by another project. This strategy will hopefully allow staff to delete portions of work if the rebid cost is again above budget amounts. As part of the rebid for the project, staff will actively solicit bids from signal contractors outside of the area to encourage submission of more than one bid for the project. If the project bids come in higher than the current budget, staff will return to Council (anticipated to be January or February 2006) with budget revision recommendations for completion of the project. One half of the cost for the Broad Street/Pacific Street signal is the responsibility of the Parking.Enterprise fund as a result of mitigating the impacts of the Marsh Street Parking Expansion project. FISCAL IMPACT Assuming we are successful in reducing bid costs, there are no fiscal impacts. However, budget adjustments or reduction in workscopes will be needed if the bids again come in above City funding. ALTERNATIVES 1.The Council may wish to award the bid received from Lee Wilson Electric.However, given the project budget, additional funding would be needed. Staff does not recommend this action because it is believed the project cost could be lowered with a revised bid package and solicitation of other bidders for the project. 2. The Council may wish to defer all construction until a later date. If this project does not proceed, the collision patterns are likely to continue at all three locations of the project. ATTACHMENT Excerpt of Caltrans Presentation to the California Transportation Commission on Volatility of Market Conditions 1:\-Council Agenda Reports\2005 Council Agenda ReportsMansportation\90440 Traffic SignalTacific&Broad Bids Results.doc ATTACHMENT Project Estimates Volatility of Material Costs California Transportation Commission. Tab 60, Reference# 4.12 Action Item Presentation by; California Department of Trainsportation September 29, 2005 1 Tab 60,Ref iew=44.12 Price ImpawNumber of Bidders ' OIYs•Y Iwiw O[YY�I�Y.MRYYIfR��I.,OM�Is 410Alsw��. . ARANMENT Tab 60,R_efm-m#4._1.2 Volatility of Material Cost Asphalt Concrete Pavement Average Unit Price(S 1 ton) ao _ ilia -- - - - - - aw au i A" -a.a ,ua N" ,r.a wu t.a ra A" .September 29;2005' Tab 60,Ref=m#4.12. . Volatility of Material Cost Portland Cement Concrete -- - — — _---- _-Aver a Unit Prtce ivdii m 00 a Mya a.os-._!e6 ..,bm. Mm arym- Jn05 Lm Myo! September 29,2005 Cy_y • 1 Tab 60,Refm-nce 114.12 Volatility of Material Cost Steel Average Unit Price.($/LB) 5 4 _ 1 - - Avg-04 Jan-05 FBb)5 Ma-r-05 Apr-05 May-05 Jun-05 Ad-05 Assam awSeptember 29,2005 S • Cy- 5 .