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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/17/2007, C2 - ORCUTT ROAD WIDENING PROJECT, SPECIFICATION NO. 90521 council ' MatimD= 07/17/07 acenaa Report CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO FROM: Jay D. Walter, Director of Public Works Prepared By: Matt Horn, Supervising Civil Enginee>',$Q' SUBJECT: ORCUTT ROAD WIDENING PROJECT,SPECIFICATION NO.90521 CAO RECOMMENDATION 1. Approve an agreement with Union Pacific Railroad in an amount estimated to be $1,610,000 for additional easement area and construction of widened railroad crossing associated with the Orcutt Road Widening Project, Specification Number 90521 and authorize the Mayor to execute the agreement. 2. Authorize the CAO to approve the plans and specifications and award the contract for the Orcutt Road Widening Project, Specification Number 90521 if the lowest responsible bid is within the available budget of$925,000. •3. Appropriate $1,440,000 and $1,200,000 from the State Transportation Improvement Program grant funding and development fees respectively to fund this project. 4. Authorize the CAO to execute a reimbursement agreement with parties inside the Four Creeks Rezoning Projects Limits. DISCUSSION The Project The widening of Orcutt Road from Broad Street to Laurel Lane and the realignment of Bullock Lane is a City Capital Improvement Plan project as well as part of the City's Major Goals for congestion relief. Portions of Orcutt Road are currently under construction or are planned to be constructed as part of private development projects. The remaining portion of Orcutt Road, between Duncan and Laurel lanes, is to be widened by the City. The first phase of the City's project will complete the widening in this area by constructing two additional travel lanes, two bike lanes, sidewalks and medians. Bullock Lane willbe realigned to meet Orcutt Road near Laurel Lane. The second phase of the project will install a traffic signal at the Orcutt, Laurel, Bullock Lane intersection. (See Attachments 1 and 2) In order to successfully fund and construct this project, coordination is required with adjacent private development projects, Union Pacific Railroad, and Caltrans. Union Pacific Railroad Agreement The project requires widening the railroad crossing on Orcutt Road. The City has received an agreement for approval from Union Pacific Railroad that will allow this facility to be upgraded to c9 -1 Orcutt Road Widening Page 2 meet the City crossing needs. This agreement with Union Pacific Railroad will compensate the railroad for the additional easement area that the City needs for the widening, as well as for construction of new railroad crossing safety equipment. This current Union Pacific Railroad Agreement will expire if not executed by. the City and returned to Union Pacific Railroad on or before August 6, 2007. If the agreement is allowed to expire the City will be required to get the project re-approved by the Public Utilities Commission, obtain a new engineer's estimate and updated agreement from Union Pacific Railroad. Processing time for these types of approvals is likely to take nine months. There are three items of the agreement with Union Pacific Railroad which are discussed in detail below. These areas of the agreement represent the largest cost to the City. 1. Railroad Easement Widening Orcutt Road will necessitate the widening of the railroad crossing located to the West of Laurel Lane on Orcutt Road. In order for the City to have the use and benefit of this widened road the City must obtain an enlarged easement from Union Pacific Railroad. The existing easement is approximately 4,800 square feet, large enough for a two travel lane road. The new easement that the City is acquiring is approximately 19,700 square feet, large enough for four travel lanes, a median, two bike lanes, two sidewalk and construction slopes. The fixed price cost of this additional easement area is $137,544. (See Attachment 3) 2. Construction Improvements Construction and modifications' of railroad facilities is specialized work and Union Pacific Railroad employs maintenance and construction personnel that build, construct and modify their own facilities: The City can not hire a contractor of its choice to do this work, but rather must contract with Union Pacific. This equipment is largely the safety facilities that prevent vehicle — train collisions. In order for the widening to occur, the new safety equipment must be installed with the newly configured street section. Union Pacific Railroad has reviewed the City's plans and based- on that information has generated a construction cost estimate for this work. The proposed agreement would require the City pay all Union Pacific Railroad's construction costs for this project. The estimated construction for the Union Pacific Railroad construction effort is $1,000,000. This agreement clearly sets an obligation to pay, without a limit on the cost. At this point, there is no certainty of the final cost, only the estimate from Union Pacific. 3. Signboard Removal In order to widen Orcutt Road to the required width an existing signboard on Union Pacific Property within the City's new easement area must be removed. Union Pacific Railroad leases this signboard location to Clear Channel Communications who in turn sub-leases to CBS Outdoor. In order for the City to remove this signboard, the City is to pay Union Pacific Railroad a withdrawal fee of$12,600. This withdrawal fee will initiate a termination of lease with Clear Channel Communications who in turn will terminate the sub-lease with CBS Outdoor. Upon termination and removal of the signboard the City should anticipate claims for compensation e z-z I Orcutt Road Widening Page 3 from both Clear Channel Communication and CBS Outdoor for loss of revenue due to this signboard removal. Staff has requested, but not received an estimate from Clear Channel Communications or CBS Outdoor for the loss of revenue due to this sign removal. The actual claim amount and validity must be determined after the claim is made and documentation reviewed. As with the railroad construction costs, this cost can only be. Private Development Responsibilities The Four Creeks Rezoning Project Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) mitigation measures require the developer to make these public improvements, as proposed in this project, to Orcutt Road prior to issuance of occupancy permits (See Attachment 4). The mitigation measures also allow the developer the option of depositing a mitigation fee in an amount equal to the estimated construction costs of these improvements with the City. The developer has requested the City construct these public improvements and a formal reimbursement agreement with the developer is currently being prepared. With cooperation from the developer, staff would anticipate the agreement would come to the CAO for approval in September. Having the City construct these improvements and entering into a reimbursement agreement with the developer for these public improvements is a benefit to all parties. The City obtains needed public improvements at low cost. The developer's are able to limit their liability for escalating costs due to the contractual requirements of Union Pacific Railroad as well as benefit from a lower portion of the total construction costs due to the grant funding. If a formal reimbursement agreement has not been reached by the time these public improvements have been constructed by the City there is some risk that the funding from the developer would be delayed or require future legal action to obtain. However, staff believes that this risk is small and outweighed by the benefit of securing the railroad agreement by the August deadline. Grant Status The City is currently in possession of a State Transportation Improvement Grant to assist with the funding of this widening project. The grant has one deadline associated with it. Staff must award a contract for construction by December 31, 2007. Failure to meet this deadline means the City would have to make another request for these same funds, competing with other agencies. Project Status Project plans are currently at the 90% completion stage with final plans expected to be completed by September. Because of the timeliness required with the signing of the railroad agreement, staff is bringing only a draft design to the Council at this time and requesting authorization for the CAO to approve final plans. This authorization approval will assist staff in meeting the grant award deadline. Installation of the signal at Orcutt and Laurel has been removed from the project at this time due to a combination of issues including the grant deadline and railroad permitting. Staff will pursue � 2-3 Orcutt Road Widening Page 4 this phase of the project as soon as all work needed to begin construction of this first phase is complete. Staff believes, at this time, that adequate funds will remain in the project budget to build the signal. Foundations and conduit installations will be constructed with this phase to prevent damage to the new improvements. Staff has been working towards bring one package to Council which included_the formal adoption of a reimbursement agreement, adoption of a Union Pacific Agreement, and a single set of project plans nand specifications to complete all public improvements and traffic signalization. Because of changing staff at Union Pacific Railroad, changing deadlines for the grant funding, as well as the uncertainty of construction timing with private development, the presented recommendations represent staff's best efforts to compile one all-inclusive package. FISCAL IMPACT This project is identified in the 2005-07 Financial Plan Appendix B page 151. The construction of the Orcutt Road widening project will be funded from both State funds and private development mitigation fees. .Project Funding Caltrans Funding (STIP) $1,440,000 Developer Fees $1,200,000 Total Available Funding $2,6409000 Estimated Project Costs Union Pacific Railroad Related Costs Union Pacific Railroad Easement $137,554 Union Pacific Railroad Construction $998,199 Union Pacific Railroad Contengencies* $474,247 Total $1,610,000 Construction Related Costs City Construction Estimate Costs $925,000 . City Construction Contengencies $92,500 Material Testing $12,500 Total $1,030,000 Estimated Total Project Cost $296409000 *Included in the "Union Pacific Railroad Contingencies" is an estimated cost for a billboard claim. �Z -y Orcutt Road Widening Page 5 ALTERNATIVES Delay the CAO Recommendations. Delaying the CAO's Recommendation until the reimbursement agreement with the developer is finalized will likely result in loss of the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) grant funding from Caltrans and require a new lengthy process with the railroad. In order for the City to receive the $1.44 million of grant funding from Caltrans, the City needs to have anagreement awarded to a contractor by the end of December, which in tum requires the City to accept the Union Pacific Railroad Agreement by the beginning of August. ATTACHMENTS 1. Vicinity Map 2. Orcutt Road Widening Project Display 3. Railroad Improvements Display 4. Excerpt of mitigation measures from EIR for Four Creeks Rezoning Project AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW IN THE COUNCIL OFFICE 1. Additional Orcutt Road Widening Displays 2. Union Pacific Railroad Agreement 3. EIR for Four Creeks Rezoning Project G:\Staff-Reports-Agendas-Minutes\_CAR\2007\CIP\90521 Orcutt Road Widening\90521 RRAgrApprove.doc �J cinity Map ! Project Location r m� e C2 -L ATTACHMENT 2 -- - Ils .�'I .-Lf { 1 ell 1 I I ill_ � a 31 1�4 il-1 h Li d IIN F IF.mJf VIItlI�I� i•/ Y\. 0. P o LIQ 'ti & 4. 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The addition of project traffic would exacerbate conditions along Orcutt Road, between Broad Street and Laurel Lane, and this road segment would continue operating at LOS F. Widening of Orcutt Road to four lanes is identified in the 1994 Circulation Element. Orcutt Road would operate at LOS D as a four-lane divided arterial (with left-tum pockets). Laurel Lane, between Orcutt Road and Johnson Avenue, is projected to continue operating at LOS C with the addition of project traffic. TABLE TR-10 Baseline and Baseline Plus Project Roadway Segment Daily Traffic Conditions RoadwayBaseline Baseline Plus Project Segment Location Type' Daily 2 Project Total Daily Volume LOS Dail Tris Volume LOS Broad Street South of Orcutt 4-Lane State (SR 227) Road Class I Arterial Roadway 34,570 C 1,510 36,080 NIA3 Orcutt Rd. Broad Street to 2-Lane Divided Laurel Lane Major Roadway 15,290 F 2,040 17,330 F Orcutt Road to 4-Lane Divided Laurel Ln. Johnson Avenue Major Roadway no left turns) 11,210 C 350 11,560 C 1 Street classification obtained from 2002 Quality/Level of Service Handbook(Florida Department of Transportation). Z LOS=Level of Service 3 According to Table 4-1 of the 2002 Quality/Level of Service Handbook,operations of the signalized intersections govern roadway segment operations when daily volumes exceed LOS D thresholds. Significant impacts are highlighted in bold. TR Impact 5 The proposed project would exacerbate unacceptable operations for the roadway segment of Orcutt Road, between Broad Street and Laurel Lane. Final EIR TR-28 � 2 - 9 ATTACHMENT 4 Four Creeks Rezoning Project Transportation and Circulation TR/mm-4 Prior to issuance of occupancy permits, the project applicants shall install, subiect to approval of the Public Works Director, the following improvements: • Provide an additional through lane in each direction along Orcutt Road. between Broad Street and the Union Pacific Railroad right-of way. The alignment of Orcutt.Road with the widening would shift southwards near Duncan Road/Sacramento Drive and transition northwards before the railroad tracks. This alignment was set by City Council in 1994 (see Ordinance No. 1269). The widening of Orcutt Road shall incorporate state and city design standards. • Provide bicycle lanes and sidewalks in both directions and left-turn pockets in both directions at McMillian Avenue and Duncan Road/Sacramento Drive with the widening of Orcutt Road. In addition, prior to issuance of occupancy permits, the applicants shall either; I) complete the following improvements subject to review, inspection and permit issuance by the City, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), and Union Pacific Railroad, or 2) subject to approval of the Director of Public Works, deposit a mitigation fee in an amount equal to the estimated construction costs of said prosect and request that the City become the lead entity in processing a CPUC Encroachment Permit for said work. Final EIR TR-29 C2 /b ATTACHMENT 4 Four Creeks Rezoning Project Transportation and Circulation Provide an additional through lane in each direction along, OTCUtt Road between Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way and Laurel Lane. Provide bicycle lanes and sidewalks in both directions and left-turn pockets in both directions at Laurel Lane with the widening of Orcutt Road. The applicants may request that the City enter into a reimbursement agreement for costs associated with improvements that are beyond the scone of the development project. The reimbursement agreement will be at the sole discretion of the Citv and final cost estimates and reimbursements amount will be subject to prior approval of the Director of Public Works. The amount of reimbursement shall be as determined by the Public Works Director, taking into consideration the project's percentile contribution to traffic volumes caused by other known development projects at this intersection, or the percentile increase in average vehicle delav attributable to project traffic. Residual Impact Roadway segment impacts along Orcutt Road, between Broad Street and Laurel Lane, would be less than significant with mitigation, Class 11, C. Pedestrian Impacts As proposed, the Tumbling Waters- component would construct walking paths that would provide pedestrian circulation around the entire village adjacent to the creek setback areas and open space. The paths would lead to a community park and a proposed footbridge across Sydney Creek which would allow residents to walk to the proposed commercial uses. Pedestrian paths would also connect to a proposed Class I bike path on the west side of Sacramento Drive. Pedestrian paths are provided through most of the Creekston portion of the site plan except through the parking lot located to the north. No conceptual site plans are available for the Broad Street parcels. The proposed project is expected to generate pedestrian trips between the proposed residential and commercial use. The existing adjacent commercial uses would attract pedestrian trips from the proposed residential uses. Sidewalks are provided on both sides of Broad Street and on the north side of Orcutt Road. A sidewalk is provided on the south side of Orcutt Road from Broad Street to its terminus near McMillan Avenue. As proposed, the Tumbling Waters component would construct a sidewalk on the south side of Orcutt Road from its terminus near McMillan Avenue to just west of the rail crossing. The next section of sidewalk on the south side of Orcutt Road starts east of the rail crossing at Laurel Lane. TR Impact 6 The proposed project would generate new pedestrian trips where sidewalks or pathways are not currently provided or proposed. TR/mm-5 Prior to issuance of building pen-nits, the applicants for the Tumbling Waters project component shall submit revised site plans showing an at-grade sidewalk or pedestrian path on the south side of Final EIR TR-30 C2 -// ATTACHMENT 4 Four Creeks Rezoning Project Transportation and Circulation Orcutt Road from its proposed terminus at the rail crossing to Laurel Lane to provide a continuous pedestrian facility. Implementation of this mitigation measure shall be coordinated with Union Pacific Railway and the California Public Utilities Commission. Prior to issuance of occupancy permits,.the applicants shall eitlier: I) complete the improvements subject to review, inspection and permit issuance by the City, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and Union Pacific Railroad, or 2) subiect to approval of the Director of Public Works. deposit a mitigation fee in an amount equal to the estimated construction costs of said project and request that the City become the lead entity in processing a CPUC Encroachment Permit for said work. Prior to issuance of building permits, the applicants for the Creekston project component shall submit revised site plans showing a sidewalk or pedestrian path through the northern parking lot on the Creekston parcel to direct pedestrians to Orcutt Road. The sidewalk or path shall be located adjacent to and outside of the 20-foot setbacks from Bishop Creek, as identified in the Biological Resources section of the EIR. Residual Impact Pedestrian impacts would be less than sign cant with mitigation, Class H. d. Bicycle Impacts The project would generate new bicycle trips to and from the project site. Bicycle lanes are provided on Broad Street, Laurel Lane, Johnson Avenue, South Street(east of Broad Street), and portions of Orcutt Road in the vicinity of the project site. As proposed, the Tumbling Water component would include a Class I bike path within the Sacramento Drive extension easement. The proposed Creekston development would provide 30 bicycle spaces. No bicycle parking spaces are proposed for the Tumbling Waters or Broad Street parcels developments. The proposed Class I (bike path) facility on the Sacramento Drive extension is inconsistent with recommendations in the City Bicycle Transportation Plan (San Luis Obispo Public Works Department, March 2004), which identify Class II (bike lane) facilities. Although a Class I bicycle path separates bicyclists from vehicular traffic on the street, bicycles would conflict with vehicles across project driveways on Sacramento Drive. Vehicles turning in and out of the driveways may not see the bicyclists on the path, especially those traveling in the opposite direction of vehicle traffic. TR Impact 7 Development of the proposed project, including the proposed Class I bike path within the Sacramento Drive extension easement, would increase bicycle lane usage on Orcutt Road. TR/mm-6 Prior to issuance of building permits, the applicants shall revise site plans shall to include striped, Class II bicycle lanes along eastbound and westbound Orcutt Road. These Class II bicycle lanes shall provide a connection to the Railroad Recreational Trail. Final EIR TR-31 � z�z ATTACHMENT 4 Four Creeks Rezoning Project Transportation and Circulation would reduce ten-year cumulative intersection operations impacts at the intersection of Broad Street and Capitolio Way to less than significant with mitigation, Class 11. TR Impact 23 The proposed project would exacerbate unacceptable operations at the unsignalized intersection of Duncan Road/Sacramento Drive Extension, and Orcutt Road. The traffic volumes at this intersection slightly exceed the minimum volume thresholds for the MUTCD peak-hour signal warrant. TR/mm-20 Prior to issuance of occupancy permits, project applicants shall make "fair share" contributions to the City's Transportation Impact Fee (TIF) program for the installation of a signal at the Duncan Road/Orcutt Road/Sacramento Drive intersection. If at the time of issuance of permits, the TIF program has not been modified to reflect the costs of the necessary signalization, the applicant shall be responsible for paying current TIF fees plus a mitigation fee associated with the estimated cost differential. Residual Impact Ten-year cumulative intersection operations impacts at the intersection of Duncan Road, Sacramento Drive, and Orcutt Road would be less than significant With mitigation, Class 11. TR Impact 24 The proposed project would exacerbate unacceptable operations at the unsignalized intersection of Laurel Lane and Orcutt Road. The northbound and southbound movements/approaches are projected to operate at LOS F. Traffic volumes at this intersection meet the MUTCD peak-hour signal warrant. Implement TR/mm-3. Residual Impact Implementation of TR/mm-3, which includes the signalization of Laurel Lane and Orcutt Road, would reduce ten-year cumulative intersection operations impacts at the intersection of Orcutt Road and Laurel Lane to less than significant with mitigation, Class H. 3) Ten-Year Cumulative Roadway Segment Levels of Service Table TR-12 presents the roadway segment levels of service for the study segments under Ten- Year Conditions. Broad Street, south of Orcutt Road, is estimated to exceed LOS D thresholds. As indicated previously, operations of this roadway segment will be governed by operations of the closely spaced signalized intersections on Broad Street. The other two roadway segments are projected to operate at acceptable levels of service. Final EIR TR-45