Agenda #4m | Award of Bid for Resurfacing

AGENDA #4m

MEMORANDUM

TO: Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager

FROM: Lance Norris, Public Works Director

Kenneth C. Pennoyer, Business Management Director

SUBJECT: Award of Bid for Resurfacing

DATE: June 25, 2008

PURPOSE

Adoption of the attached resolution would accept the bid of and award a contract to Barrett, Irvin and Jordan Construction, Inc. for resurfacing, milling and the installation of pavement markings on selected town-maintained streets, and allow change orders as necessary provided that the contract cost remains within the amount budgeted.

BACKGROUND

Budget

Resurfacing and Milling

Resurfacing

A traditional overlay is one of several preventive maintenance activities to keep pavement, under normal conditions of traffic and normal forces of nature, as nearly as possible in its original constructed condition. Such maintenance is necessary because all pavements eventually will weaken due to stress caused by traffic loading, weather and oxidization.

The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration’s publication “Road Surface Management for Local Governments” pavement life cycle analysis shows that the average street pavement quality drops 40% over the first 75% of life (approximately twelve years) after construction. Prior to this 40% drop in quality, the road condition is usually very good to excellent. If maintenance is postponed only briefly, even two to three years, then the drop in quality is another 40%, resulting in a poor condition. Consequently, maintenance costs increase significantly when this happens.

Renovation maintenance (e.g., full-depth patching and street reconstruction) costs may be five times higher, or more, per square yard compared to preventive maintenance (e.g., crack pouring, skin-patching, slurry seals and overlays) costs if repairs by resurfacing are made after the first 75% of the life cycle. The FY 2008-09 budget also includes $20,000 for slurry seal, $20,000 for fog seal, and $20,000 for crack pouring that would be performed under a separate agreement with different contractors.

As part of our review process, an extended list of streets under consideration for resurfacing is distributed for comments and coordination of projects to internal staff, local utility companies, NCDOT, UNC, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board and the Transportation Board. The final list represents streets for which issues have been addressed and have no known conflicts.

The streets listed below represents an average pavement age of about 18 years. We believe most or all of the streets or portions of streets can be resurfaced within the $518,000 of available funds and the unit prices in the low bid:

Alder Place	Audubon Road	Bartram Drive
Basnight Lane	Brandon Road	Briarbridge Lane
Bright Sun Place	Brookview Drive	Carolina Avenue
Cedar Falls Road	Colony Woods Drive	Dogwood Court
Emorywood Place	Fireside Drive	Glenburnie Street
Hampton Court	Highview Drive	Howell Lane
Indian Springs Road	E. Lakeview Drive	Lone Pine Road
Lonebrook Drive	Michaux Road	New Castle Place
Perry Creek Drive	Pinchot Lane	Providence Road
Ridgefield Road	Seminole Drive	Spencer Court
Sykes Street	White Plains Road

The street segments listed above would total about 5.9 miles. This list is subject to change depending on conditions at the time of work, such as possible utility failures.

With the exception of those streets where asphalt exists in the gutter, as a matter of Department practice, we avoid paving into the gutter and would only do so under special circumstances after confirming that paving in the gutter would not create a stormwater flow capacity problem. Where asphalt exists in the gutter, the street would be milled prior to being resurfaced and a thin layer of asphalt placed back in the gutter to cover scratch marks resulting from the milling operations. We anticipate that work in the downtown area and adjacent to campus will be completed prior to UNC’s Fall Semester.

Milling

Ten of the streets noted above would need to be milled prior to the new overlay. Milling is a process used to retain the gutter to insure proper drainage and consists of machine grinding of pavement surfaces near gutters after several street overlays. Typically, we recover stormwater flow capacity along these streets as a result of the milling process. As a matter of current Department practice along streets with grates in the gutter, the grates will be adjusted to provide a relatively smooth transition to the finished surface. Milling also improves adhesion of new surfaces on older surfaces, reducing slippage of asphalt and premature pavement failure.

Bid Process

Bid notices were distributed to 35 prospective bidders in North Carolina. The notice to bidders was published May 7, 2008 on the Town of Chapel Hill’s website.

Five bids were received, of which four were publicly opened at 3:00 p.m. on May 29, 2008 as follows:

Vendor	Asphalt	Milling	Striping	Total
Barrett, Irvin & Jordan	$445,400.00	$89,624.33	$6,147.33	$541,171.66
Barnhill Contracting	$510,000.00	$73,250.00	$6,089.85	$589,339.85
Riley Paving	$510,000.00	$78,743.75	$6,213.75	$594,957.50
Raleigh Paving	$578,400.00	$76,912.50	$6,472.75	$661,785.25
APAC-Atlantic, Inc.	No Bid Bond – bid was not read

DISCUSSION

Budget

The adopted budget for FY 2008-2009 includes $408,000 for traditional resurfacing, $90,000 for milling selected streets and $20,000 for incidental work associated with milling, for a total of $518,000. While the low bid of $535,024.33 for this work (excluding the $6,147.33 bid to restripe the streets) exceeds the funds budgeted by $17,024.33 or about 3.3%, the bid permits adjustments to the contract by plus or minus 25%. Funds are budgeted in a separate account to cover the cost of striping streets. The attached resolution would accept the low bid and authorized change orders to the contract in order to remain within the amount budgeted. Therefore, the work authorized will not exceed available funding.

Basic Resurfacing

The low bid for basic street resurfacing of $445,440 was submitted by Barrett, Irvin and Jordan Construction, Inc. Unit prices established under the resurfacing contract would not change as long as the actual amount of asphalt needed to resurface the streets is 25% less or more than we estimate.

The exact amount of asphalt needed to resurface the streets will be known more precisely after the work is underway. It is possible that the actual total cost of resurfacing the approximate 5.9 miles of streets based on measured units of asphalt could be higher or lower than now estimated.

Therefore, as in past years, we request the Council’s authorization to make changes in the amount of the resurfacing contract, if necessary, with the requirement that the contract would remain within the amount budgeted by the Council. The attached resolution would authorize such a change to the contract.

Alternates

The alternative bids for milling and striping selected streets included cost quotes of $89,624.33 and $6,147.33 respectively in Barrett, Irvin and Jordan Construction, Inc.’s low bid. Funds are budgeted in a separate account to cover the cost of striping streets. Given the necessity to coordinate milling and striping with the resurfacing process, selection of one vendor is highly desirable and recommended.

In addition to the base bid for street resurfacing, and at the request of the Orange Water and Sewer Authority, an “alternate” bid was requested for raising manhole covers and water valve boxes as a part of the street resurfacing project. OWASA would pay for this work if it chooses to use the Town’s resurfacing contractor; thus, the cost of this work is not calculated in bid or budget totals.

Option to Extend Contract

The base bid contract may be extended at the same base unit price twice by a one year contract addendum if mutually agreeable to both parties (Town of Chapel Hill and the Contractor). Unit prices for Alternate 1, Manhole and Water Value Adjustments, Alternate 2, Pavement Markings and Alternate 3, Milling, may be resubmitted with each contract extension addendum.

RECOMMENDATION

That the Council adopt the attached resolution awarding a contract to Barrett, Irvin and Jordan Construction, Inc. and allow change orders as necessary provided that the contract cost remains within the amount budgeted.