To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
Through: David L. Corliss, Town Manager
From: Daniel Sailer P.E., Public Works Director
Title
Resolution Approving a Service Agreement with Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc., for the Wolfensberger Widening Project
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
Staff is seeking Town Council Approval of a Resolution awarding a Service Agreement between the Town of Castle Rock and Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. for the Wolfensberger Widening Project.
Wolfensberger Road is a major arterial connecting local and regional travel between the westerly portions of Town and I-25. The project limits run from Prairie Hawk Drive, west to the westerly Town limits at the future west Philip S. Miller Park entrance (Attachment A). Roadway and pedestrian improvements for Wolfensberger 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 the Town grows to full build out. The improvements will include additional vehicle travel lanes, intersection improvements, bike lanes, and sidewalks along the corridor.
The amount of the service agreement is $2,286,406 plus a Town managed contingency of $211,594 for a total authorization amount of $2,498,000. This total encumbrance request is within the available project budget. The information presented herein includes: notification and outreach efforts; history of past Town Council, Boards & Commissions and other discussions; discussion of improvement scope; and budget impacts.
Notification and Outreach Efforts
A concentrated effort to identify the community relations requirements for the project will be undertaken by project team (Public Works, Community Relations, and Jacobs) to seek public involvement in the design stages of the project.
The project team will perform the following 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”
• Minimum of two (2) public open houses during 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
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 Town Council, Boards & Commissions, or Other Discussions
This project has been presented and adopted by Town Council in various forms within the last four years. The 2017 Transportation Master Plan (TMP) identified the need for additional lanes, new pedestrian facilities, and intersection improvements. This plan was approved and adopted by Town Council in 2017 and is also included in the Town’s Five-Year Capital Improvement Program within the existing 2022 budget.
The proposed service agreement was also presented to Public Works Commission on July 11, 2022 and received formal recommendation for Town Council award.
Discussion
Wolfensberger Road is a major arterial connecting local and regional travel between the westerly portions of Town and I-25. Roadway and pedestrian improvements for Wolfensberger 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 for future development.
The project has a preliminary schedule with the following milestones:
Project Kickoff 8/22
30% (FIR) plan set 2/23
ROW Acquisition start 3/23
90% (FOR) plan set 12/23
Out to Bid for Construction 1/24
At this time, it is projected that a significant amount of right of way may be necessary to construct the necessary improvements therefore it will be a key focus throughout the early design stages. With this, right of way acquisition will be the key focus pre and post 30% design ensuring that a detailed survey. The team will be examining options to minimize needed acquisitions and the timeframes to acquire. Doing so in the early stages of design will allow for acquisition services to be completed well before the start of construction.
The Wolfensberger Widening project will complete all design elements for implementation of the full build-out transportation network from Prairie Hawk Drive to the western Town limits as identified in the TMP. The transportation network improvements identified in the TMP are as follows:
• 4-lane major arterial configuration from Prairie Hawk Drive to western town limits at the future planned west park entrance
• Implementation of on-street bike lane/shoulder from Prairie Hawk Drive to western town limits at the west park entrance
• Addition of sidewalks from Prairie Hawk Drive to western town limits at the west park entrance connecting to existing sidewalk in various areas along Wolfensberger
• Roundabout construction at Red Hawk and Wolfensberger
• Access improvements for local property owners and future developments per the Wolfensberger Access Plan
This project aligns with elements valued by the community:
Improving Safety - This project includes the design of pedestrian facilities to be implemented on/adjacent to Wolfensberger Road. Currently no pedestrian facilities exist along various portions of this roadway, thus to enhance the multimodal experience and improve safety, sidewalk will be designed and on-street bike lanes added. Also, intersection improvements that increase safety at the intersection of Wolfensberger and Red Hawk intersection will be evaluated and designed with this project.
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. The additional vehicle capacity added with the additional lanes will also assist with improving reliability. The roundabout construction at Red Hawk will also improve operational efficiency throughout the full typical day.
Achieving Low Life-Cycle Costs - The proposed services with this contract include geotechnical and pavement analysis that will evaluate existing conditions along the project area and make recommendations for pavement design that will achieve the desired life span of roadway pavements with forecasted traffic volumes. Analysis of current pavement conditions will also be performed to determine potential long-term cost savings by preserving/treating existing pavements if possible.
Focus on Low Environmental Impacts - In order to minimize environmental impacts of the Wolfensberger Widening Project, the proposed service agreement with Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. for design includes environmental assessment and engineering including drainage and water quality improvements along with pursuing design alternatives that may reduce the amount of right of way acquisition needed to construct the improvements such as minimal roadway realignments, curve radii adjustments and cross-section variations. These options will help limit and possibly decrease the right of way acquisition estimated for the project while still maintaining and meeting design criteria. There are also provisions to assess the use of recycled materials in pavement design and the use of energy efficient LED lighting for street lights and traffic signals. The design and implementation of a roundabout intersection will help limit the environmental impact of the project by decreasing vehicle idle time and fuel consumption by eliminating traffic signal stops and wait times.
An overview of the project area and proposed improvements to be evaluated/designed with this service agreement is depicted on Attachment A.
A formal Request for Proposal (RFP) was advertised publicly in accordance with Town of Castle Rock Purchasing Policy Number 1045. Six qualified engineering firms submitted proposals in conformance with the RFP requirements. A selection committee of five members from the Public Works Engineering Division evaluated the proposals and have made a formal recommendation to award the service agreement to Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.
Budget Impact
The total estimated cost for the Wolfensberger Widening Design is $2,498,000 which includes
the Town managed contingency of 9%.
As this project has been planned and approved with the approval of the “2022 Operating and Capital Improvement Budget”, reservations have been made to fund this service agreement. The total available budget for the design is $2,500,000. The proposed agreement cost falls within this
budget.
Staff Recommendation
The Public Works Commission, and staff recommends that Town Council approve the Resolution as introduced by title.
Proposed Motion
“I move to approve the Resolution as Introduced by title.”
Alternative Motions:
“I move to approve the resolution as introduced by title with the following changes ______”
“I move to continue this item to a future Town Council agenda”
Attachments
Resolution
Exhibit 1: Service Agreement
Attachment A: Conceptual Project Exhibit