City Council
	Agenda Request
Agenda Of:	December 16, 2008	Agenda Request No:		IV-G
Initiated By:	keisha e. seals, engineer iii	Responsible Department:		Engineering
Presented By:	keisha e. seals, engineer iii	Department Head:		Chris Steubing, P.E. City Engineer
		Additional Department. Head (s):		n/a
Subject / Proceeding:	award of professional services contract to wilbur smith and associates for the preliminary engineering services for the dairy ashford widening project Approve Budget Amendment of $9,500 in revenues and expenditures
Exhibits:	Proposal, Fee schedule, Project Schedule and contract
Clearances			Approval
Legal:	eugenia cano asst. city attorney		Executive Director:	Joe Esch
Purchasing:	Todd Reed purchasing manager		Asst. City Manager:	Karen Daly
Budget:	jennifer brown assistant fiscal services director		City Manager:	Allen Bogard
Budget
Expenditure Required: $			69,500.00
Current Budget: $			60,000.00
Additional Funding: $			9,500.00 Revenues & Expenditures
Recommended Action
Award a professional services contract to Wilbur Smith and Associates for engineering services in an amount not to exceed $69,500.00 for CIP Project STPE01, Dairy Ashford Widening Project and approve a budget amendment of $9,500 in revenues and expenditures in the capital projects fund.
Executive Summary
In 2003, the City hired a consultant to study the corridor of Dairy Ashford and Spur 41 at U.S. Highway 90A. The scope included the development of a feasibility study to determine improvement options for short and long-term. At the time, the Texas Department of Transportation was near completion of the U.S. Highway 59 improvements and in the design phase of the now completed U.S. Highway 90A widening. Upon completion of the U.S. 90A improvements, ownership of the Spur 41 facility was to be transferred from TxDOT to the City. The purpose of the feasibility study was to confirm acceptable operations of TxDOT’s proposed improvements to the U.S. 90A/Spur 41 intersection through design year 2020. The study was to also confirm acceptable operations of the intersection, factoring in the existing (2003) and projected future growth in the Union Pacific rail traffic. The overall goal was to mitigate delay impacts of expected increases in rail traffic along the U.S. 90A corridor while providing acceptable access to commercial properties along Spur 41 between U.S. 90A and U.S. 59. The feasibility study provided two (2) alternatives for improvement of the corridor: Grade Separation with an overpass and At-Grade improvements. The At-Grade improvement was recommended in the final report. During the time of the feasibility study, the U.S. Highway 90A improvements were not yet designed and constructed; therefore, the impact of the widening was not taken into consideration during the analysis of the corridor. The Preliminary Engineering phase will analyze the current traffic volumes and traffic areas to determine what impact the widening of U.S. 90A improvements had on the level-of-service from Dairy Ashford to Julie Rivers and Dairy Ashford to U.S. 59; analyze future level-of-service (LOS); determine at what year improvements are warranted (if not existing year, based on LOS ) and design a layout of the recommended improvement that will satisfy the operational needs in the future “Build-Out” of the corridor (ie: Business Park, Granite Towers, etc). This project was identified and submitted to Fort Bend County for inclusion into the 2007 Mobility Bond package. The agreement provides a 50/50 match for construction funding. The PER is the first phase of moving towards the design and construction phases and will identify the ultimate improvements for this section due to the maximum growth and build-out of this area. Staff solicited Requests for Qualifications (RFQ’s) for the Dairy Ashford Widening PER Project as part of RFQ 2008-10. Selection of the consultant utilized the RFQ process presented at the June 24, 2008 Council Workshop. Seven qualified consultants were short-listed and interviewed. Among the seven, Wilbur Smith and Associates was selected by the Engineering staff for the preliminary engineering services. Wilbur Smith and Associates has performed services for the City on several projects such as the Eldridge Road Underpass Study and University Boulevard North Feasibility Study. The schedule for completion of the PER is six (6) months after award. The Engineering Department recommends that the City Council award the attached professional services contract to Wilbur Smith and Associates for preliminary engineering services for the Dairy Ashford Widening Project (CIP STPE01), in an amount not to exceed $69,500.00. Funds for this project are provided by the SLDC through an agreement with the City. At the December 2, 2008 SLDC meeting, the Board approved an additional $9,500 in funding over the original $60,000 budgeted. An amendment to the capital projects budget is also being requested to reflect the $9,500 in funding for STPE01 and a corresponding increase in revenues to reflect reimbursement of $9,500 from the SLDC.
Exhibits