Report to: Development Services Committee Date of Meeting: May
20, 2008
SUBJECT: Birchmount Road Extension - 14th Avenue to Enterprise Drive - Project Update
PREPARED BY: Lloyd
Fernandes, Senior Capital Works Engineer
Allan
Arbuckle, Manager of Infrastructure & Capital Works
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT the report dated May 20, 2008,
entitled “Birchmount Road Extension 14th
Avenue to Enterprise Drive – Project Update” be received;
AND THAT the tendering process for the
relocation of existing utilities, include design review and construction
coordination services, be waived in accordance with Purchasing By-Law 2004-341
Part II, Section 7 (2).
AND THAT staff
be authorized to issue Purchase Orders to the various utility companies for the
relocation of their existing facilities up to a total value of $1,500,000 exclusive
of GST to be funded from Capital account # 83-5350-8047-005;
AND THAT
staff be authorized to retain Totten Sims Hubicki to provide design review and
construction coordination services for the relocation of the existing utilities
in an amount not to exceed $36,200 exclusive of GST to be funded from Capital account
# 83-5350-8047-005
AND THAT staff be authorized to increase the value of
the contract with Totten Sims Hubicki in accordance with Purchasing By-Law 2004-341, Part II, Section 7 (1) (c)
which states “when the extension of an existing contract would prove more
cost-effective or beneficial” to include additional detailed designs, field surveys and geotechnical
investigations required by CN Rail in an amount not to exceed $65,000 exclusive
of GST to be funded from Capital account #83-5350-7629-005.
AND THAT staff be authorized to increase the value of Purchase
Order P6-00159 to CN Rail for the cost of CN Rail’s peer review of the bridge design and
consulting engineering costs for the design of the track diversion in an amount not to exceed $25,000 excluding GST.to be funded from Capital account #83-5350-7629-005.
AND THAT
staff be authorized to pre-qualify contractors for the construction of the
second phase of the Birchmount
Road extension
project including the construction of the CN Rail underpass structure.
AND THAT upon payment of all the invoices,
any remaining funds be returned to the original funding source;
AND THAT staff be
authorized and directed to do all things necessary, including the execution of
documents, to give effect to the above.
The purpose of this report is to
update Council on the current status of the Birchmount
Road extension project and to obtain authorization
to proceed with the relocation of utilities in advance of tendering of the road
and grade separation contract. Staff is also requesting approval of an
extension of the scope of the design consultant’s contract to include design
review and construction coordination services relating to the relocation of
utilities and for additional design work required to respond to requests for
additional information by CN Rail.
Birchmount
Road is a four lane major collector roadway which
currently ends at 14th Avenue.
The road continues north from 14th Avenue as Teckbridge Drive terminating at
Royal Crest Court as shown on Attachment “A”. Construction of the first phase
of the project, the construction of Birchmount Road
between Enterprise Drive
and the CN rail line including the relocation and upgrading of the existing stormwater
management pond, began in May of 2007 and is scheduled to be completed in
September 2008. There have been a number of contractor performance issues
relating to the construction of the first phase of the project which will be
discussed in a separate confidential report.
The design
and approval of the second phase of the work is nearing completion and the
project is scheduled to be tendered in October of 2008 with construction to
start in the spring of 2009 subject to the resolution of the phase 1 contractor
issues. Based on a spring 2009 start date, the road is scheduled to be open to
traffic by October 2010.
Utility Relocations
There are a number of existing utilities installed within
the road allowance of Birchmount Road between
14th Avenue and the CN Rail line that require relocation to
accommodate the road construction. To reduce the possibility of conflicts
between contractors and subsequent extra work and delay claims, staff is
proposing to commence the utility relocation work in advance of tendering the
road and grade separation contract. The Town has signed Municipal Access
Agreements with the utilities which define the responsibilities of each party
relating to the sharing of relocation costs. The utility companies are
currently at various stages in preparing the designs and cost estimates for
their individual relocation works. To expedite the relocation process, staff is
requesting approval to issue Purchase Orders to the various utility companies
as their relocation plans and cost estimates are finalized. The Town’s share of
the relocation costs will be determined by the terms of the Municipal Access
Agreements with the various utilities and the total value of Purchase Orders
issued will not exceed the $1.6 million for utilities relocations included in
the approved 2008 Capital Budget.
The Town’s design consultant, Totten Sims Hubicki, will be
required to review the relocation plans of each utility company to ensure that
there are no potential conflicts with the proposed road works and to coordinate
the scheduling of the utility construction. This review and coordination work
is beyond the scope of services included in the current agreement with the
Town’s design consultant and staff are therefore requesting that the existing
contract be extended to include this additional work at a cost not to exceed
$36,200 exclusive of GST.
CN Rail Issues
Staff had previously reported to Council in
January 2007 that CN had taken the position that the tendering,
inspection, contract administration and project management of the Birchmount
Road underpass structure was to be carried out by
CN staff with the Town responsible for the total cost of the work. CN’s position was considered unacceptable as
this arrangement would have left the Town without the ability to exert any
effective control over the operations of contractors which has led in the past
to the Town incurring significant additional costs in the form of design
changes, construction cost overruns and scheduling delays. Since January of
2007, staff has continued to negotiate with CN Rail to reach an agreement which
would allow the underpass structure
construction be included as part of the Town’s Birchmount Road construction
contract with the Town providing inspection, contract administration and
project management for the project. Under this arrangement, CN Rail would have
the right to approve the Town’s consultant and contractor involved in the
bridge construction and to retain an independent engineering firm at the Town’s
expense to provide quality control/quality assurance services directly to CN to
ensure the railway’s standards are met. These negotiations have now been
successfully concluded and a draft Agreement which allows the Town to construct
the underpass structure and assume overall responsibility for the project
including cost and scheduling control has been prepared. Staff is currently
finalizing the terms of this agreement in consultation with the Legal
Department and CN Rail and expects the agreement will be executed within the
next 2 to 3 months. In January 2006, Council authorized the Mayor and Clerk to
enter into this agreement in a form satisfactory to the CAO and Town Solicitor.
As a condition of agreeing to
permit the Town to undertake the construction of the project, CN has requested
that additional design information be prepared and submitted for their review
and approval. This work, which includes additional geotechnical investigations
and railway diversion designs, is beyond the scope of services included in the
current agreement with the Town’s design consultant and staff is therefore
requesting that the existing contract be extended to include this additional
design work at a cost not to exceed $65,000 exclusive of GST. CN Rail has
indicated they will also incur additional costs for the peer review of this
additional information and staff is recommending that the existing Purchase
Order issued to CN be increased by $25,000 excluding GST.
Prequalification of Contractors
CN Rail requires that the construction
of the railway underpass be undertaken by contractors experienced in the
construction of rail carrying structures located in close proximity to active
rail lines. Given this requirement and the technical and scheduling
complexities of constructing the grade separation structure and associated
retaining walls and relocating large diameter storm sewers within a confined
work area while maintaining access to the adjacent industrial/commercial
properties, staff is recommending that contractors for this project be
pre-qualified to submit tenders.
Property Acquisition
All properties required to
construct the second phase of the project have been acquired.
Project Schedule
The tendering of the second
phase of the Birchmount Road
extension project cannot proceed until the phase 1 contractor issues have been
resolved and the construction of the first phase is completed. Based on a scheduled phase 1 completion date
of September 2008, the current schedule for the second phase is;
·
Utility relocation – June 2008 to October 2008
·
Prequalification of contractors – September 2008
·
Construction contract tender call - October 2008
·
Tender award – January 2009
·
Construction start – March 2009
·
Construction complete – October 2010
Funding for the additional
consulting services and the utility relocations described in this report are
included in the approved Capital Budget
|
Item
|
Value
|
Account
#
|
|
Utility Relocations
Available Budget
Awards
- utility companies relocation
- design review by Totten
Sims Hubicki
Total request
Balance remaining after award
|
$1,612,500
$1,500,000
$ 36,200
$1,536,000
$ 76,500
|
83-5350-8047-005
Balance remaining after award to
be transferred to phase 2 construction account after completion of utility
relocations
|
|
Detail Design CN Rail
Available Budget
Awards
- additional design information
by Totten Sims Hubicki to
address CN issues
- additional CN peer review
Total request
Balance remaining after award
|
$1,020,050.57
$
65,000
$ 25,000
$
90,000
$ 930,050.57
|
83-5350-7629-005
Balance remaining after award to
remain in account for phase 2
construction
|
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The Finance and Legal Departments
have reviewed this report and their comments have been included.
.
RECOMMENDED BY:
________________________ ________________________
Alan Brown, C.E.T. Jim
Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Director of Engineering Commissioner,
Development Services
Attachment “A” – Site Location