To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
Through: David L. Corliss, Town Manager
Daniel Sailer, Director of Public Works
From: Andrew Focht, Project Manager
Title
Resolution Approving a Professional Service Agreement with Alfred Benesch & Company, for the Crowfoot Valley Road Widening Project
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
Staff is requesting Town Council approval of a Resolution approving a Service Agreement between the Town of Castle Rock and Alfred Benesch & Company (“Benesch”) for Construction Management and Inspection Services for the Crowfoot Valley Road Widening Project. The proposed scope of work within this agreement includes full time construction inspection services and part time project management support. The utilization of these services will help ensure construction of the Project is in accordance with contract documents, and will in turn be crucial for delivering high value to the community.
Crowfoot Valley Road is a major arterial connecting local and regional travel between the north easterly portions of Town, Douglas County and I-25. Roadway and pedestrian improvements for Crowfoot Valley Road have been identified within the 2017 Transportation Master Plan (TMP) that will maintain adequate capacity, enhance multimodal travel experiences, improve safety, and ensure efficient road network connections as traffic volumes increase. The proposed construction contract includes work to implement the project improvements illustrated on Attachment A. The improvements include road widening to accommodate 4-through lanes and turn lanes, signal construction at Sapphire Pointe Boulevard, on-street bike lanes, drainage improvements, and a new sidewalk along the corridor. The project also includes reconstruction of existing asphalt pavements that are in poor condition and rehabilitation of an existing sanitary sewer system.
Project construction will commence in May 2025, and is anticipated to be complete by the end of summer 2026. The traffic signal installation at Sapphire Point is an early phase item and is targeted to be operational by late summer 2025. Town staff have already procured traffic signal poles and arms for the signal in order to allow for an expedited signal construction
The Town received 7 proposals from qualified professional services firms to perform construction management and inspection services for the project. Alfred Benesch & Company’s proposed services were determined best value through an evaluation and selection process.
The amount of this service agreement is $584,504 plus a 10% staff managed contingency in the amount of $58,480.40 for a total authorization of $642,984.40. This is a joint project with Douglas County. The County is contributing a total of $1,706,000 toward the project, $1,456,000 of which is for the construction phase.
The information presented herein includes: notification and outreach efforts; history of past Town Council, Boards & Commissions and other discussions; discussion of improvement/design scope; and budget impacts.
Notification and Outreach Efforts
History of outreach
A concentrated effort to identify the community desires for the project was undertaken with the Community Relations Division during the project’s planning phase. Town staff performed the following community notification and outreach efforts related to the project:
• Project website creation, including regularly scheduled updates and feedback forms
• Two (2) public open houses during preliminary design to inform and collect feedback
• Created/updated/monitored an email notification line for the project
An iterative process was implemented during this primary outreach phase to reach the final design (Attachment A). The process included assessing various intersection types and lane layout, obtaining community feedback, and revising the plan accordingly. Upon completion of this process, Town staff presented the recommended conceptual design to Town Council on January 3, 2023 through the “Discussion/Direction: Proposed Concept for Improvements to Crowfoot Valley Road Widening Project” agenda item, and was directed to proceed with the project design as presented.
Notification and outreach included/planned during construction
Project staff have developed a communications plan for construction that identifies specific activities that will engage and inform residents and stakeholders of the project, and construction impacts. The plan includes a multifaceted approach using Town and project webpages, social media, and print media (mailers, newsletter articles) to inform the community of construction impacts including lane closures. This outreach will continue from project inception to project completion communicating all major impacts to the traveling public.
History of Past Town Council, Boards & Commissions, or Other Discussions
This project has been presented and adopted by Town Council in various forms within the last seven years. First within the 2017 Transportation Master Plan (TMP), Town staff identified the need for additional lanes, new pedestrian facilities, and intersection improvements. This plan was approved and adopted by Town Council in 2017. In 2019, 2021 and 2023 Town Council approved $365,000; $2,000,000; and $6,235,000 in funding for the project respectively. The $365,000 in 2019 was dedicated for the construction of a roundabout at Crowfoot and Timber Canyon, that has since been discontinued based on community feedback. The $2,000,000 and $6,235,000 in budget was dedicated for the project through approvals of the “2022 Operating and Capital Improvement Budget” and “2024 Operating and Capital Improvement Budget”. In January 2023 Council directed Town Staff to proceed with the proposed concept design for the roadway. On June 6, 2023 Town Council approved 1) An Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Douglas County to obtain $1,706,000 of County funds to be used to assist with funding design and construction of the project, and 2) A service agreement with Alfred Benesch and Company to complete design of the Project.
The proposed service agreement with Benesch was presented to Public Works Commission on April 7, 2025 and received a unanimous recommendation for Town Council to award.
Discussion
Project Background
Crowfoot is a major arterial connecting local and regional travel between two growing communities, and northeast portions of Town to I-25. Roadway and pedestrian improvements for Crowfoot have been identified within the 2017 Transportation Master Plan (TMP) that will maintain adequate capacity, enhance multi-modal travel experiences, improve safety, and ensure efficient road network connections for future development. The improvements to be constructed are illustrated on Attachment A and include:
• Road widening to accommodate 4 through lanes and turn lanes. between Knobcone Drive and Sapphire Pointe Boulevard
• New sidewalk from Knobcone Drive to Sapphire Pointe Boulevard on the south side
• Intersection improvements to Sapphire Pointe Boulevard (new traffic signal)
• Median construction between Knobcone Drive and Macanta Boulevard
• Storm drainage improvements
• Street lighting
• Implementation of on-street bike lanes/shoulders
• Existing asphalt pavement reconstruction
• Sanitary sewer rehabilitation
Project Schedule
It is anticipated that construction of the Project will follow the schedule outlined below:
Construction - 250 working days
• Start construction in May 2025
• Complete construction late summer 2026
The construction contract is a working day contract, meaning that construction contract time is counted when weather conditions allow. This type of contract time allows construction to pause in winter (typically January through March) in order to avoid inefficiencies that can significantly increase cost for the construction.
Project Values
This project aligns with the Department’s Strategic Asset Management Plan’s (SAMP) policies of maximizing safety and reliability while evaluating improvements that have low total lifecycle cost and low environmental impacts.
Improving Safety - This project will construct pedestrian facilities (on-street bike lane and new sidewalk) that will allow for safer bicycling and walking activities within the area. Multiple traffic calming elements are included with this project including a section of raised median, and narrow travel lanes in an effort to reduce vehicle speeds within the corridor.
Improving Reliability - The construction of this project includes additional travel lanes (4-through lanes) as well as auxiliary lanes (dedicated right and left turn lanes) where warranted. The additional lanes combined with a traffic signal at the Sapphire Pointe intersection will decrease delays during rush hour periods as traffic volumes increase and minimize variability of typical trip times. The project also includes scope to perform needed pavement restoration of the existing roadway asphalt throughout the project limits.
Achieving Low Life-Cycle Costs - The proposed construction was designed to achieve low life-cycle costs by assessing and selecting geotechnical and pavement designs that are resilient and can withstand the forecasted traffic volumes.
Focus on Low Environmental Impacts - In order to minimize environmental impacts of the project, the proposed construction has been planned considering migratory bird surveys, wetland surveys, and endangered species surveys. The construction also includes storm drainage and water quality improvements that meet stringent Castle Rock Water design criteria. There are also provisions to allow the use of recycled materials in asphalt pavement, subgrade base course and the use of energy efficient LED lighting for street lights and traffic signals.
Budget Impact
The total cost for construction of the project is $8.4M which includes the construction contract, construction management and inspection services, and CORE electric lighting costs as illustrated in Figure 1 below.
Figure 1
The project includes new transportation assets (capital improvements), street maintenance, and sanitary sewer rehabilitation so multiple accounts/sources are utilized to fund the work as broken down in Figure 2 below.
Figure 2
The accounts that are to fund construction of the project, and their current balances, are outlined in Table 1 below.
The current approved total project budget is $6,978,240. A forthcoming budget amendment will increase the Crowfoot Valley Road Widening project account budget by $1,100,000, which exceeds the current projected shortfall of $850,280 but will cover unforeseen expenses as the project moves into the construction phase. There is sufficient fund balance within the Transportation Fund to cover a forthcoming budget amendment. In the meantime, there is sufficient capacity in the existing Transportation Fund to cover this encumbrance request without negatively impacting other projects within the current 5-year Capital Improvements Program (CIP) until the Budget Amendment can occur. Additionally, Castle Rock Water will request a budget transfer in the amount of $573,112 from Yng American Rehab to the Sewer Line Rehab account to ensure sufficient funds are available to cover the encumbrance request. The requested transfer will not negatively impact the planned maintenance projects for Castle Rock Water.
This service agreement proposed with this resolution is to be funded only by the Crowfoot Valley Road Widening project account as outlined in Table 2 below.
Douglas County is contributing a total of $1,706,000 toward the project ($250,000 of which has already been received for design of the project), while the Town funds the remainder. County funds are acquired in lump sum fashion upon construction contract award and are then incorporated into the transportation capital account.
The project construction cost, and budget need, have changed since the time the “2025 Operating and Capital Improvement Budget” was approved by Town Council due to two primary factors. First, the project lighting cost of $450,000, which must be performed by CORE electric was assumed to be funded by the CORE electric franchise account, which has since been reserved for additional Crystal Valley Interchange (CVI) work. This franchise account is held and funded by CORE electric for Town spending as a condition of their operations within Town and on Town Right-of-Way. Second, the project construction scope increased around 6%, or $400,000, since the 2025 budget was set in order to account for additional storm drainage infrastructure needed to resolve roadway drainage issues as well as enhancing the project’s planned traffic control to reduce major disruptions to the traveling public on Crowfoot Valley Road.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends Town Council approve the resolution as introduced by title. The Public Works Commission unanimously recommended that Town Council approve the resolution.
Proposed Motion
“I move that Town Council approve the Resolution as Introduced by title.”
Alternative Motion:
“I move that Town Council approve the Resolution as Introduced by title with the following adjustments (list adjustments) ….”
“I move that Town Council consider this resolution at a later (specify date) Town Council meeting”
Attachments
Resolution
Service Agreement
Attachment A: Project Improvements