Report to: Development Services Committee            Date Report Authored: June 15, 2010

 

 

SUBJECT:                    Detailed Design for Highway #404 Mid-Block Crossing Between Highway #7 and 16th Avenue

PREPARED BY:         Dale MacKenzie, Senior Capital Works Engineer (4055)

                                       Alick Wong, Manager Capital Works and Infrastructure (3120)

 

RECOMMENDATION:

1)                  That the report entitled “Detailed Design for Highway #404 Mid-Block Crossing between Highway #7 and 16th Avenue”, be received;

 

2)                  And that the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to execute a cost sharing agreement for the design of the Highway 404 Crossing (between Highway 7 and 16th Avenue) between the Town of Markham, the Town of Richmond Hill and the Region of York,  to the satisfaction of the CAO and the Town Solicitor;

 

3)                  And that the contract “116-R-10 Detailed Design of Highway 404 Crossing” (between Highway 7 and 16th Avenue) and the “Detailed Design of the Highway 404 Off-Ramp Extension” be awarded to the highest ranked/ second lowest priced bidder URS Canada Inc. subject to the execution of the cost sharing agreement; 

 

4)                  And that the Town of Markham upfront the Highway 404 Crossing design cost

($ 839,637.84) with subsequent recovery from The Town of Richmond Hill and the Region of York (33.3% each) within 45 days after receipt of invoices;

 

5)                  And that a contingency in the amount of $73,267.20 inclusive of HST be established to cover any additional design costs for the Highway 404 Crossing and that the Director of Engineering be authorized to approve the expenditure of this contingency amount up to the specified limit in accordance with the Expenditure Control Policy;

 

6)                 And that the Town of Markham be authorized to pay as much as 100% of the cost of the ramp extension design ($772,517.28) if cost sharing arrangements with the Region of York and/or the Town of Richmond Hill are not successful;

 

7)                  And that a contingency in the amount of $65,126.40 inclusive of HST be established to cover any additional design costs for the Highway 404 off-ramp extension at Highway 7 and that the Director of Engineering be authorized to approve the expenditure of this contingency amount up to the specified limit in accordance with the Expenditure Control Policy;

 

8)                  And that the Region of York and the Town of Richmond Hill be requested to cost share the fees for the detailed design of the Highway 404 Northbound Off-Ramp Extension;

 

9)                  And that the successful Proposal be funded from the Capital Accounts as noted in the report;

 

10)              And that the Finance Department be directed to combine the following accounts 083-5350-7267-005, 083-5350-9318-005 and 083-5350-9319-005 into account 083-5350-10050-005 and that the new account be used to finance the design and construction of the Highway 404 Crossing;

11)              And that the Finance Department be directed to combine the following accounts 083-5350-7271-005 and 083-5350-7712-005 into account 083-5350-9317-005 and that the new account be used to finance the design and construction of the Highway 404 Off-Ramp Extension;

 

12)              And that staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Not Applicable

 

1. Purpose                     2. Background                     3. Discussion                         4. Financial       

PURPOSE:

·         To obtain Council approval to enter into a Cost Sharing Agreement with the Region of York and the Town of Richmond Hill (33.3% each) for the detailed design of the Highway 404 Mid-block crossing between Highway 7 and 16th Avenue.

 

·         To award the contract for the detailed design of the Highway 404 Mid-Block Crossing between Highway 7 and 16th Avenue subject to the execution of the cost sharing agreement;

 

·         To award the contract for the detailed design of the Highway 404 off-ramp extension at Highway 7 to be financed if necessary (100%) at the Town’s expense.

 

·         To request the Town of Richmond Hill and the Region of York to cost share the design of the Highway 404 northbound off-ramp extension at Highway 7.

 

·         To obtain Council approval to combine the capital accounts for the Highway 404 Crossing and the Highway 404 Off-Ramp Extension for ease of financial administration.

 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Between Highway 7 and 16th Avenue, Highway 404 is the boundary between the Town of Markham and the Town of Richmond Hill with full interchanges at both Highway 7 and 16th Avenue.  The arterial roads in this study area currently experience severe traffic congestion and the demand on the east-west road network is now well above its capacity.

 

The Markham Transportation Planning Study (June 2002) indicated that crossings of Highway 404 would help to achieve a balanced distribution of traffic demand by providing capacity to the network.  This balanced distribution is important given that significant congestion currently being experienced on Highway 7.

 

To address these traffic issues a Municipal Class Environmental Assessment Study to explore the need for an additional east-west roadway across the Highway 404 between Highway 7 and 16th Avenue was completed in 2005.  The Environmental Study Report noted that a mid-block collector crossing Highway 404 between Highway 7 and 16th Avenue will provide a direct route to the Valleywood Business Park, Allstate Business Park, East Beaver Creek Business Park and will reduce congestion on the adjacent arterial roads (Highway 7and 16th Avenue) by providing an alternative east-west connection between Richmond Hill and Markham as noted in Attachment ‘B’.

 

The next step in implementing the mid-block collector is to commence the detailed design.  This design is to be cost shared equally by the Town of Markham, the Town of Richmond Hill and the Regional Municipality of York (33.3% each to a maximum of $300,000.00 each).

In addition to the Highway 404 crossing, local traffic studies recommend a northbound off-ramp extension for Highway 404 at Highway 7, which will connect to the mid-block collector as noted in Attachment ‘B’.  Existing conditions show operational problems at intersections within the area that would be alleviated with the Highway 404 Ramp Extension.

 

The Town of Markham completed a Municipal Class Environmental Assessment for the Highway 404 Off-Ramp Extension on January 31, 2008.  The Class EA recommended that the off- ramp be extended north of Highway 7 to the future Highway 404 crossing.  We are now in a position where the  detailed design of the off-ramp extension can be completed. 

 

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

COST SHARING AGREEMENT FOR HIGHWAY 404 CROSSING

Representatives from the Town of Richmond Hill, the Region of York and the Town of Markham met several times and have finalized terms of a Cost Sharing Agreement for the design works for the Highway 404 crossing.

 

The principles of the “Agreement” include the following:

  • All three municipalities will contribute 33.3% of the total design fees up to a maximum of $300,000.00 each exclusive of the design cost for the 404 off-ramp extension.
  • The Town of Markham will provide interim upfront financing of the design (45 days).
  • The Town of Richmond Hill and the Region of York will reimburse the Town of Markham within 45 days of receiving invoices.

 

HIGHWAY 404 OFF-RAMP EXTENSION AT HIGHWAY 7

As part of the EA study, detailed analyses of the traffic operations in the area on each side of the Highway 404 from Highway 7 north to 16th Avenue were completed. 

 

The analyses found that many of the study area intersections are operating at or above capacity.  The intersections experience notably high delays and high volume-to-capacity ratios with several critical movements.  The summary of the analyses found that with the installation of the extension of the northbound off-ramp north of Highway 7, traffic congestion on both sides of the Highway 404 corridor will improve and that the benefits of this roadway improvement will be experienced by the Town of Richmond Hill, the Region of York and the Town of Markham.

 

As the Town of Richmond Hill and the Region of York will also benefit from this off-ramp extension, a request to both municipalities to participate in the cost sharing of the design works is recommended.  If the Town of Richmond Hill and the Region of York decide not to participate in the cost sharing of the design works, a “Right Turn Only” traffic sign will be installed at the intersection with the Highway 404 crossing and the ramp extension.  This will restrict traffic from the Off-Ramp Extension to eastbound movement only to service Markham businesses.

 

PROPOSAL CALL INFORMATION

A Request for Proposal #116-R-10 was issued in accordance with Purchasing By-Law 2004-341.  Engineering staff from the Region of York, Town of Richmond Hill and the Town of Markham along with assistance from the Town of Markham Purchasing Department, reviewed the submitted proposals and are satisfied that all the terms, conditions, proposal prices and specifications comply with the Town’s requirements.

 

The results of the proposals received are summarized below:

 Request for Proposal

Advertised

ETN

Bid closed on

May 17, 2010

Number obtaining Bid documents

19

Number responding to Bid

3

 

 

 

 

 

Detailed Analysis:

Company

Score (Out of 100 Points)

Ranking

URS Canada Inc.

77.14

1

AECOM Canada Ltd.

  76.74

 2

Morrison Hershfield Ltd

68.98

3

 

A detailed analysis was completed on the proposals and URS Canada Inc. was awarded the highest scoring.  We recommend awarding this contract to URS Canada Inc. as they received the highest scoring, their proposal included all of the required information, and they are acceptable to both the Town of Richmond Hill and the Region of York. (Price range for Highway 404 Mid-block Crossing – $674,394.05 to $866,086.48 and the range for Highway 404 Off-Ramp Extension at Highway 7 - $433,168.92 to $653,291.57)

 

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

The total cost of this detailed design project inclusive of HST is as follows:

 

ITEM

Inclusive of HST

Account #

Highway 404 Mid-block Crossing

 

 

Detailed Design Fees

$730,213.99

10050*

Contingencies

$  73,267.20

10050*

Engineering Department Capital Administration Fee (4.5%)

$  36,156.65

10050*

Total

$839,637.84

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Detailed design to be funded from account #10050 upon consolidation with other accounts.

The Highway 404 Crossing currently has the following Capital Accounts:

a)         Highway 404 Crossing North of Highway #7

Capital Accounts              Budget                                    Available Amount

083-5350-7267-005          $1,500,000.00             $1,493,319.00

083-5350-9318-005          $   250,000.00             $     83,333.00 (Markham Share Only)

083-5350-9319-005          $   448,000.00             $   134,069.00 (Markham Share Only)

083-5350-10050-005        $1,000,000.00             $   670,000.00 (Markham Share Only)

Total for all Accounts     $3,198,000.00             $2,380,721.00

The Town of Markham’s share of the total design award cost for the Highway 404 Crossing is $279,879.28 inclusive of HST;

Highway 404 Off-Ramp Extension at Highway 7

Inclusive of HST

Account #

Detailed Design Fees

$653,291.57

9317*

Contingencies

$  65,329.16

9317*

Engineering Department Capital Administration Fee (7.5%)

$  53,896.55

9317*

Total

$772,517.28

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Detailed design to be funded from account #9317 upon consolidation with other accounts.

The Highway 404 Off-Ramp Extension currently has the following Capital Accounts:

b)        Highway 404 Off-Ramp Extension at Highway #7

Capital Accounts              Budget                                    Available Amount

083-5350-7271-005          $199,846.00                $  31,430.44

083-5350-7712-005          $206,200.00                $206,200.00

083-5350-9317-005          $550,000.00                $550,000.00

Total for all Accounts     $956,046.00                $787,630.44

 

The total design costs for the Highway 404 Off-Ramp Extension is $772,517.28 inclusive of HST;

 

HUMAN RESOURCES CONSIDERATIONS

“Not applicable”

 

ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:

The Highway 404 Crossing and the Highway 404 Off-Ramp Extension provides the necessary infrastructure to allow for improved traffic movement between the Town of Richmond Hill and the Town of Markham, which in turn will improve the traffic congestion along Highway 7 and the areas on either side of Highway 404.

 

The extension of the Highway 404 northbound off ramp will also improve the level of service on Highway 7.

 

These projects are in line with the Town of Markham’s strategic focus relating to Growth Management, Transportation/Transit, Safety, the Environment and Municipal Services.

 

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

The Finance and Legal Departments have been consulted and their comments have been incorporated.

 

RECOMMENDED BY: 

 

 

 

________________________                           ______________________________

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

Director of Engineering                                     Commissioner, Development Services

 

ATTACHMENTS:

Attachment ‘A’ Cost Sharing Agreement

Attachment ‘B’ Schematic of Highway 404 Crossing and Highway 404 Off-Ramp Extension