To: Members of the Public Works Commission
From: Andrew Focht, Project Manager
Title
Resolution Recommending Town Council Approve a Service Agreement Between the Town of Castle Rock and Alfred Benesch & Company for the Design of the Crowfoot Valley Road Widening Project
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
Staff is seeking a favorable recommendation from the Public Works Commission for Town Council to approve a Resolution (Attachment A) approving a Service Agreement between the Town of Castle Rock and Alfred Benesch & Company for design of the Crowfoot Valley Road Widening Project.
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 portion of Crowfoot included in this project is illustrated in Attachment B, beginning at its intersection with Knobcone Drive and ending at the Town limits. The improvements will include additional vehicle travel lanes, auxiliary lanes, drainage improvements, signal construction at Sapphire Pointe Boulevard, bike lanes and complete sidewalk(s) along the corridor. This concept is based on significant public input and previous Town Council direction. The project scope will also include reconstruction of existing asphalt pavements (full-depth reclamation), which will be budgeted and funded separately through the Town’s annual Pavement Maintenance Program.
This is a joint project with Douglas County. A separate Intergovernmental Agreement regarding funding split for both the preconstruction and construction phases will be presented to Town Council for action. The County is contributing a total of $1,706,000 toward the project. The Town will be responsible for the balance. The amount of this service agreement is $645,000 plus a 10% staff managed contingency in the amount of $64,500 for a total authorization of $709,500. The current program estimate for property acquisition is $100,000, and $6,690,500 for construction for a total project estimate of $7,500,000. The recommended timing of the property acquisition and construction phases will be dependent on the bids received for the Four Corners project. Once that occurs, we will be providing Town Council with a recommendation to adjust the current Five Year CIP to match new revenue forecasts. The schedule to complete design is by Q2 2024.
Reconstruction of existing pavement is also planned to occur with the construction phase. Existing pavement is at the end of its useful life and should be reconstructed to be in line with the community’s desire to manage our transportation infrastructure at the lowest total lifecycle cost possible within existing fiscal constraints. Funding for this would come from a separate Transportation Fund account.
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 form
• 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 desired concept plan (Attachment B). 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 concept 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. An additional follow up meeting with the Timber Canyon HOA was also conducted to present how this direction applied to the Knob Cone intersection. The proposed service agreement completes design of the project based upon this Town Council direction.
Notification and outreach included/planned during design
Project staff have developed a communications plan for this design contract/phase to identify specific activities that will engage and inform residents and stakeholders of the project. The plan includes a multifaceted approach using Town and project webpages, social media, and print media (mailers, newsletter articles) to inform the community of upcoming construction impacts. The primary objective of the planned communications is to minimize the impact of construction activities on roadway users.
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 six 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 and 2021 Town Council approved $365,000 and $2,000,000 in funding for the project respectively. The $365,000 in 2019 was dedicated for the construction of a roundabout at Crowfoot and Timber Canyon, which has since been discontinued based on community feedback. The $2,000,000 in budget was dedicated for the project through approval of the “2022 Operating and Capital Improvement Budget”. A more recent discussion surrounding the project with Town Council was in January, 2023, when Council directed Town Staff to proceed with the proposed concept (Attachment B) for the roadway layout/design. There is also a proposed resolution currently for Town Council to approve 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.
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 identified by staff are illustrated on Attachment B and include:
• 4-lane major arterial configuration from Knobcone Drive to the Town limits
• Addition of sidewalks from Knobcone to Sapphire on the south side
• Intersection improvements to Sapphire Pointe Blvd (Traffic Signal)
• Raised median on the east end of the project
• Additional street lighting
• Implementation of on-street bike lanes/shoulders from Knobcone to Sapphire Pointe on the east/northeast bound lanes
• Drainage improvements
• Existing pavement restoration
From 2021 through the end of 2022, the Town and Douglas County worked to complete concept design(s) and perform community outreach and engagement (outlined within the Notification and Outreach section above). Once the preferred concept was presented and approved by Town Council early this year, staff prepared a scope-of-work (SOW) and a request for proposals (RFP) to procure a potential service agreement to complete design and permitting for the Crowfoot Valley Road Widening project. Generally, the work included in this service agreement includes:
• Transportation planning and design of municipal roadways
• Storm drainage design associated with transportation projects
• Design Administration
• Traffic analysis & studies
• Design of pedestrian facilities
• Survey Control and Topographic Design Surveying/Mapping
• Preparation Land Survey Plats/Right-of-Way and Ownership Maps
• Preparation of Legal Descriptions
• Geotechnical Investigation and Pavement Design services
• Traffic Signal Design
• Construction Phasing / Traffic Control Plans
• Environmental Permitting
• Subsurface Utility Engineering Investigation (SUE)
• Post-Design Services through construction
A committee including Town staff from multiple departments and divisions, including a representative from Douglas County, performed evaluation of proposals received. The proposal submitted by Alfred Benesch and Company was chosen by the committee as the preferred respondent.
Project Schedule
It is anticipated that the project will follow the schedule outlined below:
Design - 2023
Right of Way Acquisition - 2023-2024
Construction completion - End of 2024/early 2025
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 includes the design of 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 design 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.
Decrease Delays - The additional capacity that will be constructed in the limits will decrease total delays across all daily trips within the project limits.
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 project, the proposed service agreement for design includes environmental assessment and engineering including; migratory bird survey, wetland survey, endangered species survey, storm drainage and water quality improvements. 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.
Budget Impact
The total estimated cost for the Crowfoot Valley Road Widening design is $709,500.
As this project has been planned and approved with the approval of the “2021 Operating and
Capital Improvement Budget”, budget is available to fund this service agreement. The proposed
agreement cost aligns with staff cost estimates previously made.
The total cost of the project (including Design, ROW and Construction) is currently estimated to
be $7,500,000, which is broken down by phase and scope below within Table 3.
The Town has already dedicated $2,000,000 of funding, and Douglas County has agreed to
contribute $1,706,000. The remainder of funds needed to construct the project (estimated budget
shortfall of $3,800,000) will be evaluated within the 2024 budget planning process, after other priority
capital improvement projects such as the Crystal Valley Interchange and the 4-Corners projects are
fully funded. If the construction phase is reprioritized to a future year (due to program priorities and/or
budget constraints) the design will be “placed on the shelf”.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends that Public Works Commission recommend Town Council approve the resolution
as introduced by title.
Proposed Motion
“I move that the Public Works Commission recommend that Town Council approve the attached
Resolution as introduced by title.”
Alternative motions:
“I move to recommend that Town Council approve the attached Resolution as introduced by title,
with the following conditions: (list conditions)”
“I move to continue this item to the Public Works Commission meeting on (date) to allow additional
time to (list information needed)”
Attachments
Attachment A: Resolution
Attachment B: Project Limits