STAFF REPORT

Operations Committee, July 10, 2008

Bid Award: American Tobacco Trail – Chatham County Project (PR09‑02)
Consideration of bid award for the American Tobacco Trail - Chatham County (Project PR1113)
Speaker:  Ms. Mary Henderson

From:  Mary G. Henderson, Director, PRCR
Prepared by:  Joe Godfrey, Senior Parks Planner, PRCR
Approved by:  William B. Coleman, Jr., Town Manager
Approved by:  Benjamin T. Shivar, Assistant Town Manager

Staff is requesting approval of a construction contract for capital project PR1113 (American Tobacco Trail – Chatham County). On June 12, 2008, bids were opened for the construction of a segment of the American Tobacco Trail (ATT), from the Wake/Chatham County line to the Chatham/Durham County line, a distance of 4.67 miles. Except for the pedestrian crossing over I-40 (currently under design by City of Durham), this section of trail represents the remaining section of the ATT that has not been constructed, and once completed will provide approximately 23 miles of continuous trail in Wake, Chatham and Durham counties.  Upon approval of the construction contract, work will begin in September of 2008 with an expected completion of June 2009.

Background

In March of 2007, Town Council approved entering into an agreement with the North Carolina Department of Transportation to bid and oversee the construction of the ATT segment within Chatham County (see PR07-23).  The NCDOT Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation and Structural Division had completed the design and construction documents for the project, but lacked the staff to oversee actual construction.  Unlike Wake and Durham Counties, Chatham County indicated at that time that they did not have the capability to oversee a trail construction project of this scale.  NCDOT requested Cary's assistance with construction administration because the Town has demonstrated a capability to oversee large-scale construction projects that must be built per approved plans and specifications.  NCDOT agreed to reimburse the TOC for one hundred percent (100%) of the costs for construction, construction administration and construction testing and inspection in the amount of $2,319,960.

While the 4.67 mile segment of the ATT discussed in this staff report will not lie within the Town’s jurisdictional limits, assisting in its completion and maintenance benefits Town of Cary residents.  The Town’s greenway system plan is designed to make several connections to the ATT.  Both the Greenway Committee and the PRCR Advisory Board have recommended connectivity to the ATT as a high priority.  The ATT will actually run through three future Town parks, including the Raftery, Weldon Ridge and the Amberly trailhead park sites.

As designed by DOT, the corridor through Chatham County will include a 10 foot-wide asphalt trail as well as a 6 foot-wide adjacent trail, consisting of compacted granite screenings trail. There will also be an approximate 2-4 foot wide grass shoulder along both sides of the trail. This dual trail is recommended to extend from the Durham/Chatham County line south to New Hope Church Road.  From this point the trail will be constructed as a 10-12 foot wide compacted granite screenings trail south of New Hope Church Road so as to link with Wake County’s section of gravel trail.

Construction of this segment, including 4.67-miles of trail with bridges and drainage structures, is expected to take 9 months to complete. 

BIDDING:

General Contract Work

On June 12, 2008 ten bids were received.  The apparent low bidder is Holmes Contracting, Inc. with a base bid of $1,566,481. (See Table 1) 

TABLE 1

After council approval of the low bidder staff will submit the construction contract to the NCDOT Board of Transportation for final approval at their August 7, 2008 meeting.

Fiscal Impact:  Short term operating impacts include providing staff for project management for construction.  Longer term operating impacts include general operation and maintenance by Public Works staff.  Staff recommends that discussion be held during the construction of the project with representatives of Triangle Rails to Trails, a volunteer group, to develop plans for volunteer support that would help defray the annual maintenance costs to the Town.  NCDOT is providing the funding for the construction of this trail in the amount of $2,319,960.  Since the low bid came in under NCDOT’s budgeted amount, staff will pursue additional opportunities with NCDOT for utilizing the remaining $800,000 for other ATT-related projects.

TABLE 2 – AVAILABLE FUNDING

Staff Recommendation:  Approval for the bid to be awarded to Holmes Contracting, Inc. for the construction contract for the American Tobacco Trail – Chatham County at a total bid price of $1,566,481.  An award by council represents a preliminary determination as to the qualification of the bidder and no legally binding acceptance of the bid or offer occurs until the Town has executed a written agreement.