To: Members of the Public Works Commission
From: Aaron Monks, Project Manager
Title
Resolution Approving a Service Agreement Between the Town of Castle Rock and Jacobs Engineering Group for Design Services on the Crystal Valley Interchange Project
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
Staff is seeking a favorable recommendation from the Public Works Commission to Town Council for the approval of a Resolution (Attachment A) approving a Service Agreement between the Town of Castle Rock and Jacobs Engineering Group (Jacobs) to complete preconstruction services associated with the Crystal Valley Interchange (CVI) with I-25 project. The scope of work includes: 1) Completing a CDOT Interchange Access Request, 2) Completing all required National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) processes. and 3) Developing design plans.
Five proposals were received from reputable firms. The evaluation committee, which is comprised of four Town of Castle Rock staff members, two Douglas County staff members, and three CDOT personnel, ranked the five firms with Jacobs and another firm being short listed as the two top ranked firms. These two firms were interviewed on April 15, 2021, with Jacobs being recommended for the project award.
The Crystal Valley Interchange will improve access to I-25 by connecting the east side frontage road and Crystal Valley Parkway over I-25 to Territorial Road on the west side including interstate access ramps for one of the fastest growing areas of Castle Rock. The interchange includes the construction of the following improvements: a bridge over I-25, North and South Bound on & off ramps, bridge over the BNSF Railroad, and relocation of the East and West side frontage roads. The project will also reduce existing and future congestion at the Plum Creek Parkway interchange by redistributing traffic to this new interchange, and improve safety by removing an at-grade railroad crossing on the west side of I-25.
The amount of the Service Agreement is $6,894,000 plus a 10% staff managed contingency in
the amount of $689,000 for a total authorization of $7,583,000. The information presented herein includes: notification and outreach efforts, history of past Town Council, Boards &
Commissions and budget impacts.
Notification and Outreach Efforts
A concentrated effort to identify the community relations requirements for the project will be
done with the Community Relations Division resulting in a project Communications Plan.
The project team, along with Jacobs, will perform the community notification and outreach efforts related to the project:
• Project website creation, including regularly schedule updates
• Provide project article(s) to be included in the “Outlook Magazine”
• Three (3) public outreach meetings during the primary and final design to inform and collect feedback
• Create/update/monitor an email notification line for the project
• Provide project article(s) to be included in Castle Rock Water Mailer as needed, and
• Nextdoor media as applicable.
The primary goal related to community outreach for this project is twofold: First, these efforts will create a culture of trust among adjacent residents and project stakeholders. Second, they will facilitate stakeholder buy-in throughout the design process.
History of Past Tow n Council, Boards & Commissions, or Other Discussions
This project has been presented and adopted by Town Council in various forms within the last two Transportation Master Plans (TMP), which includes the 2017 TMP. The interchange was originally conceptualized in the late 1980’s when the Dawson Ridge subdivisions were approved. Initial FHWA documents were completed in 2004 with the approval of an Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). The project stalled as a result of lack of development on the west side of I-25, and project funding prioritization changes.
In the spring of 2020 the Town applied for a BUILD grant for Design, ROW and Environmental
Assessment funding. The Town received notice of award of the $5.4 million grant in late fall of
2020.
The proposed design services agreement is also being presented to Public Works Commission on June 7, 2021 to receive formal recommendation for Town Council award. The results of the Commission recommendation for both the IGA and design contract will be presented to Council during the Town Council meeting.
Discussion
The interchange design is the next step in the process to allow construction of this project. The design process will refine the conceptual design created with the environmental documents to actual construction plans for the project.
The selection committee evaluated the proposals based on qualifications with emphasis given to firm capabilities, the project team, past performance, and project approach. The short listed firms all had experienced teams with the capacity to complete the design work to meet the Town’s schedule. The firms were given seven questions and asked to make a fifteen-minute presentation. The firms then answered follow up questions from the selection committee. Strengths and weaknesses were evaluated for each short listed firm prior to a selection being made.
Jacobs identified critical issues in their proposal and had a good approach to resolve these issues and keep the project on schedule. Some of the critical issues identified include right-of-way needs, railroad coordination, water quality, current environmental assessment requirements, and traffic analysis. Jacobs presented some innovative ways to deal with these issues and reduce overall cost. Jacobs had a good presentation and excelled at answering the follow up questions.
Preliminary design of the project includes the following major tasks:
• Project Management
• Traffic Analysis
• Design alternatives and value engineering (VE)
• Contractor constructability review and alternative delivery
• Survey and Right-of-Way
• NEPA process and associated tasks
• Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE)
• Geotechnical Investigation
• Major Structure Design
• Public Utilities Commission (PUC) & Railroad Crossing Assistance
• Project Coordination with utilities, agencies, etc.
Jacobs will provide the necessary professional services required in order to complete the currently anticipated EA re-evaluation utilizing the applicable tools, including all applicable CDOT documents and applicable NEPA document process. The consultant and Town staff shall engage both CDOT and FHWA early and often throughout the design to ensure that the NEPA process is the most cost effective and in order to streamline the approval process.
Due to the complexity of this project, staff will be utilizing CDOT’s alternative procurement delivery approach to assess which method is best suited to complete the design and move into the construction phases of this project. Traditional Design-Bid-Build, Design-Build, and Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) methods were considered. A project delivery selection workshop was conducted by the Town to determine the best delivery method. The selection team had staff from the Town of Castle Rock, Douglas County and CDOT. The result of the workshop was the CM/GC delivery method would be the best to achieve the successful delivery of this project with the proposed schedule. Staff will be moving forward with evaluating and making recommendations as the process continues.
The project’s preconstruction services are projected to be complete, and any needed ROW
acquired by July 2023, with the potential of early delivery projects.
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 eliminates an at-grade Railroad crossing on the west frontage road and reduces congestion at the Plum Creek Parkway Interchange.
Improving Reliability - The design of this project will include traffic assessments to determine appropriate intersection layouts that will decrease traffic delays resulting from forecasted development in the area.
Achieving Low Life-Cycle Costs - The proposed services with this contract include geotechnical and pavement analysis that will evaluate existing conditions within the project limits and make recommendations for pavement/structure design that will achieve the desired life span.
Focus on Low Environmental Impacts - In order to minimize environmental impacts of CVI, the proposed Service Agreement with Jacobs for design includes environmental assessment and engineering which includes but is not limited to air quality due to congestion, drainage and water quality improvements.
Budget Impact
The BUILD grant allows for 45% of the project cost to be reimbursed to the Town up to an
amount of $5.4M with a total cost of $12M. The Town is required to cover all remaining costs. The grant is reimbursable whereby the Town pays initial costs and gets reimbursed at the 45% level.
The funds necessary for the preconstruction services have been included in the project’s 2021
budget as stated below.
|
FUNDING ACCOUNT ASSIGNMENTS |
|
Account |
Acct Budget |
Contract Amt |
Contingency |
Total |
|
Crystal Valley Pkwy Interchange 135-3175-431.78-41 |
$6,524,832 |
$5,931,665 |
$593,167 |
$6,524,832 |
|
Development Contributions |
$5,031,075 |
$962,335 |
$95,833 |
$1,058,168 |
|
Total |
$11,555,907 |
$6,894,000 |
$689,000 |
$7,583,000 |
The remainder of the budget, $3,972,907 will be available to cover additional cost incurred during design that is above the $7,583,000, and will be available for construction.
The Finance Department has verified the balances indicated above.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends the Public Works Commission recommend to Town Council to approve the resolution as introduced by title. This recommendation is contingent on the final fee negotiation being within the existing budget, plus CDOT’s concurrence.
Proposed Motion
“I move that that Public Works Commission recommend to Town Council to approve a
Resolution as introduced by title.”
Attachments
Attachment A: Resolution