Report to: Development Services Committee                Date Report Authored: March 23, 2010

 

 

SUBJECT:                          Rodick Road/CN and Birchmount Road/CN Grade Separation Project Update

 

PREPARED BY:               Alick Wong, Manager of Capital Works, ext. 3120

                                             

                                           

 

RECOMMENDATION:

1)      That the report entitled “Rodick Road/CN Grade Separation and Birchmount Road/CN Grade Separation Project Update” be received;

 

2)      And that the construction of Rodick Road Phase 3 (14th Avenue to Esna Park Drive) be deferred to 2011/2012 to facilitate property acquisitions;

 

3)      And that the construction of Birchmount Road Phase 2 (CN Rail to 14th Avenue) be advanced to 2010/2011;

 

4)      And that the funding of $10,000,000.00 in account # 83-5350-9300-005 for the Rodick Road/CN Grade Separation be transferred to account # 83-5350-8047-005 for the construction of Birchmount Road/CN Grade Separation (14th Avenue to CN track) and the account be renamed “Birchmount Road – Phase 2 Construction”; and

 

5)      And that the remaining funding of $1,662,677.00 within Rodick Road Phase 3 account # 83-5350-9300-005 be used for the various utility relocation projects to facilitate the 2010 Alden Road / Esna Park Drive intersection re-alignment ahead of the road construction; and

 

6)      And that the renamed project “Birchmount Road – Phase 2 Construction” be amended to include the additional funding in the amount of $1,650,000.00 for the construction of Birchmount Road/CN Grade Separation to be funded from the Town Wide Hard Development Charge Reserve; and

 

7)      And that the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to enter into Crossing Agreements with CN Rail to implement the construction of Rodick Road/CN Grade Separation and the Birchmount Road/CN Grade Separation, in a form satisfactory to the CAO and the Town Solicitor; and

 

8)      And that the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to enter into Crossing Agreements with Enbridge or other utility companies to implement the construction of Rodick Road/CN Rail Grade Separation and Birchmount Road/CN Grade Separation, in a form satisfactory to the CAO and the Town Solicitor; and

 

9)      And that the Request for Proposal 323-R-09 for detailed design of Rodick Road Phase 2 (Miller Ave to 14th Ave) be awarded to the highest ranked / lowest priced supplier, Morrison Hershfield Limited in the amount of $136,332.00, including a contingency allowance of $13,000.00 excluding GST from Capital Account 083-5350-7258-005, Rodick Road – Phase 2.  ; and

 

10)  And that Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary including the execution of documents, to give effect to the above resolutions.

 

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Not applicable

 

 

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to update Council on the current status of the Rodick Road/CN Grade Separation (14th Avenue to Esna Park Drive) and Birchmount Road/CN Grade Separation (14th Avenue to CN track) projects and to reprioritize their construction schedules.  This report also recommends that the detailed design of Rodick Road Phase 2 (Miller Avenue to Riviera Drive) be awarded to Morrison Hershfield Limited.

 

 

BACKGROUND:

 

Rodick Road

Rodick Road is a mid-block collector road that currently extends from north of 16th Avenue to Riviera Drive. As a result of increasing traffic congestion along Woodbine Avenue and Warden Avenue between Highway 7 and Steeles Avenue, the Town prepared a Class Environmental Assessment Study in 2003 to explore alternatives for north-south road network improvements within this area. The February 2003 Class Environmental Assessment concludes that Rodick Road should be widened from Miller Avenue to Riviera Drive and extended from Riviera Drive to the Esna Park Drive./Alden Road intersection. 

 

The Rodick Road improvement (Phase 1) over Highway 407 (between Highway 7 and Miller Avenue) has been completed.  The section of Rodick Road (Phase 2) between Miller Avenue and 14th Avenue involves the widening of the existing road to 4 lanes as shown in the attached Figure 1.  This phase will undergo detailed design upon the award of consultant services.  The design of Rodick Road Phase 2 began in 2003 and was put on hold in 2007 to resolve the location of a shared stormwater management (SWM) facility with Miller Paving Development and mutual servicing issues.  In 2009, the shared SWM facility was finalized and an in camera report related to property matters will be at Committee on April 20th, 2010.  Staff prepared an updated work scope and issued a Request for Proposal 323-R-09 in November 2009 to update the detailed design.

 

 

 

 

 

BID INFORMATION:

 

Advertised

Electronic Tendering Network

Bids closed on

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Number that picked up bid documents

31

Number responded to proposal

5

 

PROPOSAL EVALUATION:

The evaluation team was comprised of staff from the Engineering Department with Purchasing acting as facilitator. The evaluation was based on pre-established criteria as listed in the Request for Proposal, 20% Past Experience, 20% Qualifications of the Project team, 30% Project delivery and 30% Price, totalling 100%.

 

The ranking results are as follows: (323-R-09)

Bidder

Score (out of 100 points)

Overall Ranking

Morrison Hershfield Limited

95.33

1

Planmac Inc.

75.62

2

Lea Consulting.

68.76

3

Schaeffers and Associates

65.00

4

URS Canada

62.00

5

 

Prices ranged from $123,332 to $260,685.

 

The evaluation confirmed Morrison Hershfield Limited to be the overall highest ranked, scoring highest for the technical requirements and lowest for pricing.  Morrison Hershfield had previous involvement in this project as a sub consultant to Lea Consulting, and has a strong background in similar projects and a good understanding of the project deliverables, key issues and challenges.

 

Birchmount Road

Birchmount Road is a four lane major collector roadway which extends from the City of Toronto and currently ends at 14th Avenue.  The road continues north as a narrow local road north of 14th Avenue as Teckbridge Drive terminating at Royal Crest Court/Citizen Court.  The Transportation Study prepared for the Markham Centre Secondary Plan recommends that Birchmount Road be extended further north to provide a continuous mid-block collector between 14th Avenue and Highway 7.  The Class Environmental Assessment (May 1996) confirms this extension from 14th Avenue to Highway 7.

 

Birchmount Road from Highway 7 to the Rouge River will be constructed by the developer (Times Group) and their current schedule is 2011/2012.  Birchmount Road from Enterprise Drive to the Rouge River has already been partially constructed by the developer (Remington Group).  The Town has also completed the portion from Enterprise Drive to CN Rail as shown in the attached Figure 2.  Birchmount Road Phase 2 from CN Rail down to 14th Avenue involves the installation of a rail track diversion, construction of a grade separation, a collector road under the CN Rail and the widening of the existing local road near 14th Avenue with intersection improvement at the 14th Avenue intersection.

 

 

 

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

 

CN Rail Issues

During the coordination with CN Rail, they indicated due to their staff shortages and the various government economic stimulus initiatives, they can only provide the necessary flagging operation at one CN Rail crossing within the Town during each calendar year.  The Town’s 2010 - 5 Year Capital Budget was prepared based on this critical constraint with Rodick Road grade separation in 2010/2011 and Birchmount Road grade separation scheduled in 2011/2012.  Prior to the construction of any proposed grade separation with any CN Rail corridor, the Town is required to sign a CN rail crossing agreement with CN Rail.  The principles of the agreement would be:

·        The Town is to fund the construction of the grade separation

·        The Town is to fund the maintenance of various components of the grade separation

·        CN Rail has to approve the design and the qualification of the contractor who will be constructing the grade separation

·        The Town is to fund the CN approval, inspection and flagging costs.

·        The Town is also to fund the temporary track diversion which has been estimated at a total cost of $2 million for the Birchmount grade separation

·        The Town will also require the contractor to provide adequate insurance and indemnification as required by CN Rail

 

Revised Capital Program

In the Town’s 5 Year Capital Program, the Town proposes to construct 2 new grade separations (Rodick Road over CN in 2010/2011, Birchmount Road under CN in 2011/2012), 2 new bridges (Birchmount Road at Rouge River in 2011/2012 and Verclaire Gate at Rouge River beyond 2013) and also the Highway 404 mid-block crossing (north of Highway 7) in 2011/2012.  The timing of this infrastructure is critical to the various planned developments within Markham Centre.

 

The section of Rodick Road (Phase 3) between 14th Avenue and Esna Park Drive involves the widening of the existing roadway and the construction of a new road overpass at the CN Rail.  The construction of Phase 3 is dependent upon property acquisitions and the Town is experiencing delays as our legal department and external legal firm will have to undertake expropriations of between one to four properties.  The revised schedule for this phase is as follow:

·        Utility relocation late 2010 and early 2011

·        Tender in summer of 2011

·        Construction in 2011/2012

 

As Rodick Road Phase 3 cannot proceed in 2010 due to land acquisition delays, staff is proposing to advance Birchmount Road Phase 2 from 2011/2012 to 2010/2011 while delaying Rodick Road Phase 3 until 2011/2012.  This would require the transfer of $10 million of the approved 2010 Capital funding for Rodick Road Phase 3 to Birchmount Road Phase 2.  Additional funding in the amount of $1.65 million dollars is also necessary to be funded from the Town Wide Hard Development Charge Reserve to facilitate a temporary railway diversion bridge and the construction of a permanent CN Rail bridge.  Staff will also update the draft 2011- 5 Year Capital Budget which is to be presented to Committee on April 13th to reflect the above mentioned changes to Birchmount Road Phase 2 and Rodick Road Phase 3.  The revised schedule of Birchmount Road/CN Rail grade separation will also complement the schedules of the developers along Birchmount Road between Enterprise Drive and Highway 7.  The Times Group has indicated their construction schedule of Birchmount Road from Highway 7 south to the Rouge River crossing is 2011/2012.  The Birchmount Road Rouge River Bridge is currently undergoing a Class EA addendum (to the 1996 approved Class EA) to focus among other things, the preferred structure type and cross section. 

 

Enbridge and other utilities

Within the CN Rail corridor and abutting roads, there are various existing utilities that need to be relocated to facilitate the Town's proposed grade separations.  Staff is coordinating with CN Rail and the utilities and is seeking authority to sign the necessary utility agreements to facilitate the proposed works.  The agreements will be based on our existing Municipal Access Agreements where applicable, and it will also identify the cost and the funding arrangements for the necessary relocation works.

 

 

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS AND TEMPLATE: (external link)

In order to revise the Capital Program, the following financial matters are required:

·        To transfer $10,000,000.00 from account # 83-5350-9300-005 (Rodick Road/CN Rail Grade Separation) to account # 83-5350-8047-005 for the construction of Birchmount Road CN Grade Separation (14th Avenue to CN Rail)

·        To amend the renamed project “Birchmount Road – Phase 2 Construction” to include additional funding in the amount of $1,650,000.00 for the construction of Birchmount Road/CN Grade Separation be funded from the Town Wide Hard Development Charge Reserve; and

·        The detailed design of Rodick Road Phase 2 be awarded to Morrison Hershfield Limited in the amount of $136,332.00, as per Purchasing RFP 323-R-09, including a contingency allowance of $13,000.00 without GST from Capital Account 083-5350-7258-005, Rodick Road – Phase 2. 

 

HUMAN RESOURCES CONSIDERATIONS

Not applicable

 

ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:

The advancement of Birchmount Road/CN Rail Grade Separation will complement the Growth Management objectives in the Markham Centre and Highway 7 corridor.  This infrastructure is also a vital link to the Transportation and Transit network supporting the projected travel demands.

 

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

The Finance Department has reviewed this report.

 

RECOMMENDED BY:  

 

 

 

 

 

________________________                        ________________________

Alan Brown, C.E.T.                                        Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.

Director of Engineering                               Commissioner, Development Services

 

 

 

Q:\Development\Engineering\REPORTS\2010\March\Rodick Rd-CN & Birchmount Rd-CN Grade Separation final.doc

 

 

 

ATTACHMENTS:

Figure 1:  Rodick Road, Phase 2 and 3

Figure 2:  Birchmount Road, Phase 1 and 2