AGENDA #4d

MEMORANDUM

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

SUBJECT:      Award of Bid for Resurfacing

DATE:                        June 27, 2005

The attached resolution would award a contract to Raleigh Paving for resurfacing and milling several town-maintained streets, and allow adjustment in the amount of the contract within the amount budgeted by the Council for the budget year 2005-2006.

The adoption of the attached resolution would authorize execution of a contract with the low bidder and change orders as necessary provided that the contracted cost of resurfacing, pavement marking and milling remains within the budget.

BACKGROUND

Budget

The Manager’s recommended budget for FY 2005-2006 includes $304,000 for traditional resurfacing and $56,500 for milling selected streets, for a total of $360,500. 

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 12 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.  As a result, 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) cost if repairs by resurfacing are made after the first 75% of the life cycle.  The recommended budget also includes $40,000 for slurry seal and $20,100 for crack pouring that would be performed under a separate agreement with different contractors.

The list below represents an average pavement age of 14.5 years.  We believe most or all of the streets or portions of streets can be resurfaced within the $304,000 of available funds and the unit prices in the low bid:

            Ashe Place                                                     Boxwood Place

            Brookberry Circle                                           Butternut Drive

            Cameron Glen                                                 Cedar Hills Circle      

            Cedar Hills Drive                                            Cobb Terrace

            Cooper Street                                                  Craig Street

            Essex Lane                                                      Evergreen Lane

            Finley Forest Drive                                         Hamilton Road

            Hartig Street                                                   Hemlock Drive

            Kingston Court                                               Lanark Road

            Manchester Place                                            Meares Road

            Old Mill Road                                                 Pin Oak Court

            Pitch Pine Lane                                               Porthole Alley

            Ridgewood Lane                                            San Mateo Place

            Sedgefield Drive                                             Sierra Drive

            Songbird Lane                                                            Standish Drive

            Valentine Lane                                                Westbury Drive

The street segments listed above would total about 5.3 miles. This list is subject to change depending on conditions at the time of work, such as possible utility failures.

Milling

Twelve 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.  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 22 prospective contractors in North Carolina, 10 of which were minority businesses. The notice to bidders was published in the April 10, 2005 edition of The Chapel Hill News and the April 14, 2005 edition of the Greater Diversity News, a minority newspaper.

Six bids were received and publicly opened at 3:00 p.m. on April 29, 2005 as follows:

Vendor Asphalt Milling Total

Raleigh Paving                        283,400                       46,400                         329,800

S.T. Wooten                            308,100                       56,550                         364,650

APAC                                     331,760                       72,500                         404,260

Central Paving                        332,228                       68,730                         400,958

Larco Construction                 364,000                       87,000                         451,000

Rea Contracting                      391,144                       65,830                         456,974

DISCUSSION

Basic Resurfacing

The low bid for basic street resurfacing of $283,400 was submitted by Raleigh Paving.  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 5.3 miles of streets based on measured units of asphalt could be higher or lower than now estimated. To the extent funding permits, we could resurface and mill additional streets.

Therefore, as in past years, we request the Council’s authorization to make changes in the amount of 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 bid for milling selected streets included a cost quote of $46,400 in Raleigh Paving’s low bid.  Given the necessity to coordinate milling with the resurfacing process, selection of one vendor is necessary.

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, and, thus the cost of this work is not calculated in bid or budget totals.

The low bid for basic resurfacing and milling selected streets totals $329,800.

Option to Extend Contract:

The base bid contract may be extended twice by a one year contract addendum if mutually agreeable to both parties (Town of Chapel Hill and the Contractor) at the same base unit price.  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 for the combined low bid of $329,800 by Raleigh Paving.

A RESOLUTION AWARDING A CONTRACT FOR RESURFACING OF STREETS (2005-06-27/R-3)

WHEREAS, the Town of Chapel Hill has solicited formal bids by legal notice in The Chapel Hill News on April 10, 2005, and in the Greater Diversity News on April 14, 2005, in accordance with G.S. 143-129 for the resurfacing of streets; and

WHEREAS, the following bids were received, opened and publicly read on April 29, 2005:

Vendor Asphalt   Milling  Total

Raleigh Paving                        283,400                       46,400             329,800

S.T. Wooten                            308,100                       56,550             364,650

APAC                                     331,760                       72,500             404,260

Central Paving                        332,228                       68,730             400,958

Larco Construction                 364,000                       87,000             451,000

Rea Contracting                      391,144                       65,830             456,974

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council accepts the April 29, 2005, bid of Raleigh Paving as adjusted for street resurfacing in the amount of $329,800, including alternates, received in response to the Town's request for bids published on April 10 and April 14, 2005, and opened on April 29, 2005, in accord with G.S. 143-129.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Manager is authorized to execute a contract with Raleigh Paving in the amount of $329,800 and to initiate and sign change orders to the contract, provided that the contracted cost of resurfacing, pavement marking and milling shall remain within the budget.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this contract may be extended twice by one year contract addendum if mutually agreeable to the Town and Raleigh Paving at the same base unit price.

This the 27^th day of June, 2005.