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HomeMy WebLinkAboutI-10 and Cook St Interchange 658, 659, 660-95 INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM CITY OF PALM DESERT TO: City Council and City Manager FROM: Richard J. Folkers , Assistant City Manager-Public Works Director SUBJECT: I-10 & Cook Street Interchange; Project Status Update Project No. 658/660-95 DATE: February 16 , 1995 This memo is provided to summarize and tie all of elements of this major project together for a better understanding of the project direction. This regional project is rapidly moving now into the construction phase . This update is intended to present not only where we are now, but also provide insight into the intended directions required to expedite the project and minimize the costs . Many of the items presented herein have been approved by Council already. Others items are discussed as a "look ahead" . I. PROJECT SCOPE OVERVIEW: The overall project actually has three major elements or phases ; Phase I:- The Extension of Cook Street* from Frank Sinatra to the I-10 , (approximately 4 , 000 feet) including the future intersection with the future extension of Gerald Ford. This phase includes underground utilities for two water mains , and a gravity sewer main that must be installed from Frank Sinatra to Gerald Ford prior to the pavement construction. Additionally, 80% of the southern approach ramp for Cook Street will be constructed in this phase , as well as the raising of the SCE High Voltage Transmission line at this ramp crossing. The remainder of the ramp and final lift of paving/striping is a part of Phase III . Phase II:- The Relocation of Varner Road and Northern Utilities requires moving approximately one mile of , and signalizing the I-10 frontage road intersection of Varner Road and Chase School Road north to clear the new interchange , as well as the relocation of sewer and other utilities running in the existing Varner Road. The gravity sewer will connect to the three mile extension of this line now under construction by CVWD. This phase will also demolish and remove the existing forced main sewer lift station. IID, GTE, Sprint , and Colony Cable will also move utilities as a part of this phase . I-10 & Cook Street Interchange Project Status Update, February 1995 Projects 658/659/660-95 Phase III:- The Construction of the Interchange Crossing and Ramps ; requires two bridges , two retaining wall supported ramps built on Southern Pacific Railroad easements , and three earthen ramps on the north side . Two additional signalized intersections will be included for the interchange. The north facing retaining walls , bridge facia , and columns will feature raised relief artistic depictions of the fringed toed lizard and the sidewinder rattlesnake . This phase also requires the landscaping of the northern side of the interchange in the CalTrans Right-of-Way. This may be deferred as long as two years from completion to allow for commercial development to occur on the north side . II. STATUS AND DIRECTION OF THE PHASES: Phase I:- The Extension of Cook Street; A. General: This Phase, while a part of the overall project for planning and financing purposes , is processed for construction as a CITY PROJECT. It is all physically within the City Limits and with the exception of the terms of the Mitigated Negative Declaration, is subject only to City and other local agency requirements . This is the rationale for terminating 300 feet from the CalTrans ' bridge abutment portion of the north bound Cook Ramp. B. Environmental Review: The Environmental Document , (ED) has been prepared in-house and adopted by City Council . This ED is tied to the Interchange ED for conditions of approval . The ED has been filed with the Riverside County Clerk. The City Staff are processing payment of the $34 , 800 contribution to the Multi- species Habitat Plan Study at this time . C. Right-of-Way: The required ROW acquisition for this phase is completed. D. Utility Relocation: Minor SCE and CVWD "relocations" are required at Frank Sinatra . However, major new utilities are required for the development of the area that must be co- ordinated and integrated with the Cook Street Extension construction. E. Construction: The roadway extension is under contract to Granite Construction, (Contract #C08710) . They are on hold pending; a) the resolution of CCO#1 that resulted from the requirement to install the new underground pipelines , and b) the 2 I-10 & Cook Street Interchange Project Status Update, February 1995 Projects 658/659/660-95 co-ordination of the import soil and construction of the north bound Cook Street ramp. The design and installation of these new utilities is subject to a tri-party agreement with the surrounding private developers for cost sharing. This part of the overall project is NOT part of the CVAG reimbursement agreement scope. The utility installations are part of a still larger multi-phase non-CVAG related utility installation for the northern area, all subject to the tri-party agreement. The installation of the j initial three utility lines (Contract #C09550) will go to open bid 1 March. Obviously, Granite may or may not be the succes- sful bidder. The utility installations must be co-ordinated with the construction of roadway and signals . A third contract (Contract #C09560) will be put out for bid in early March to haul soil from the Whitewater channel for cleanup, and compact it in place to construct the southern interchange ramp. Again, Granite may or may not be the successful bidder. The ramp construction must be co-ordinated with the construction of the Cook Street roadway and signals at Gerald Ford. Granite will have the responsibility to construct the street improvements on the new 80% ramp, with the exception of the final lift of asphalt and striping and signing, after its installation. F. Schedule: Optimistic 1 . Go to Bid: O Utility Lines 01 Mar 95 O Soil Haul/Ramp Construction 15 Mar 95 2 . Award Construction: O Utility Lines 23 Mar 95 O Soil Haul/Ramp Construction 13 Apr 95 3 . Construction Complete: O Utility Lines 28 Apr 95 O Soil Haul/Ramp Construction 15 May 95 O Cook Street Roadway/Signals 15 Jun 95 G. Financing: All "Commitment" and "Obligation" elements of the project CVAG Reimbursement Agreement have been complied. The project is a part of the State SB300 program in Cycle 4 . Construction was awarded prior to June 30 , 1994 for the major portion of this work. CVAG has released availability to all project funds except "Construction" . No "ROW" funds are required. Construction reimbursement dollars will be requested for this Phase in the Executive meeting of March. "Environmental Mitigation" funds are available. 3 I-10 & Cook Street Interchange Project Status Update, February 1995 Projects 658/659/660-95 Phase II:- The Relocation of Varner Road and Northern Utilities ; A. General: This Phase was originally broken out from the actual interchange for the same reason as was Phase I , Cook Street Extension. It is all physically within the County ROW and with the exception of the terms of the Mitigated Negative Declara- tion, is subject only to County and other local agency requirements . The initial plan was to form a co-operative agreement with the County to Advertise, Award, and Administer, (AAA) the construction of this phase . For Phase III , the Interchange Construction, CalTrans was to be responsible for AAA, a lengthy and costly approach. However, with the reorganization of CalTrans Districts 08 & 11 , and subsequent transfer of the construction oversight responsibility to District 11 , a major direction change has j g just now become possible. District 11 has stated that they are willing to allow the City, as Lead Agent, to manage the AAA. Staff is currently developing the CalTrans requirements to accomplish this approach. This is discussed below in "Phase III" . The important thing here is that , if the City is responsible for the AAA of the interchange, there is no reason that we should also not manage the Phase II , Varner Road Relocation. This approach significantly reduces the administration time to develop the required agreements and cost splits with the County. The Varner Road Phase is a relatively simple "open area" road construction and signal installation job, much like the Cook Street Extension. B. Environmental Review: The ED has been prepared and adopted by City Council . It has received all sign-offs required from CalTrans & FHWA, and has been filed with the Riverside County Clerk and the State Clearing House . C. Right-of-Way: The required ROW for this phase is currently in the appraisal process . At CalTrans insistence , the City retained Riverside County Real Property Division, (Contract #C08090) , to manage the ROW acquisition. They in turn selected the Appraiser who is in the process of developing the Appraisal Report . The offers to the land owners will be made immediately after approval of the appraisal report by CalTrans . D. Utility Relocation: The installation of the overall gravity sewer line portion within the project area will be constructed by the project in accordance with a separate agreement with CVWD. The GTE, Colony Cable, and Sprint relocations will be constructed by a separate company in a common trench under the 4 I-10 & Cook Street Interchange Project Status Update, February 1995 Projects 658/659/660-95 management of GTE. Staff is currently finalizing the IID electrical relocation design with IID and CalTrans . This will be constructed predominately be IID forces or by their management . E. Construction: The desired approach is to have the City as Lead Agent , Advertise , Award, and Administer the construction of Varner Road Relocation and the associated utilities , as part of the overall City managed interchange construction. While total CalTrans ' requirements for this approach are not known, it is certain to entail the contracting with a CalTrans Interstate Project experienced individual or company for guidance . Staff currently is investigating more than a dozen firms known to be acceptable to CalTrans on FHWA projects . The use of CalTrans for AAA normally requires an additional four to nine months on the front end of the construction portion of a project . Additionally, the CalTrans administering costs would be significantly greater than those controlled directly be the City. Staff have had a preliminary discussion concerning this approach with Riverside County personnel . Often the City is used to con- struct facilities that are partly in the County. This requires the design to be in accordance with County specifications and co-operation with County inspectors . The design for this Phase was developed totally to County standards and is drawn on County title block originals . Palm Desert is the Lead Agent for the Project . There is no difference in concept if the City controls the construction or if CalTrans would have done so. In fact , the County will have more input with City contract administra- tion than it would have if CalTrans would control the Contractor under oversight of Palm Desert as Lead Agent. While there should be no problem with the City administering the construc- tion of Varner relocation in the County, these details need also to be completed. It is planned to award one contract for sewer installation, roadway and signal construction, and final demolition of the existing forced main sewer lift station. However, there currently exists an opportunity to obtain soil for the construc- tion of the north side ramps from a conveniently located site at the southwest corner of Monterey and Dinah Shore. This would minimize both the area impacts , and costs for this portion of the Cook Street project . To take advantage of the situation, Staff must; a) negotiate the loading and hauling agreement with the soil property owner, b) negotiate and procure a temporary 5 I-10 & Cook Street Interchange Project Status Update, February 1995 Projects 658/659/660-95 construction easement with one of the north side major land owners , including surveys and legal descriptions , and, c) award a contract for the hauling and stockpiling of the soil . Relative to this earth moving contract , Staff is also discussing with the County the possibility of including an additional separate bid line item for transportation and compaction of soil for the south side ramp for the Monterey Avenue/I-10 Inter- ' change. This approach would allow that project to also take advantage of the locally available soil to minimize cost and time. Costs would be separated, and drawn from the Monterey Project. In addition to the ability to expedite construction progress on the Monterey Interchange, potentially both projects could obtain a lower rate as a result of the increased quantities . F. Schedule: Optimistic 1 . Riverside County MOU for construction 31 Mar 95 2. ROW Acquisition: O CalTrans Appraisal Approval 17 Mar 95 O Make Offers 31 Mar 95 O Close Escrow 26 May 95 3 . Go to Bid: 01 May 95 4 . Award Construction: 08 Jun 95 5. Construction Complete: 31 Oct 95 G. Financing: All "Commitment" and "Obligation" elements of the project CVAG Reimbursement Agreement have been complied. This phase of the total project is a part of the State SB300 program in Cycle 6 . Construction is scheduled to be awarded prior to June 30 , 1996 . CVAG has released availability to all project funds except "Construction" "ROW" funds are available as required. "Utility Relocation" funds are available as required. Construction reimbursement dollars will be requested for this Phase in the Executive meeting of April . "Environmental Mitigation" funds are available . Phase III:- The Construction of the Interchange Crossing and Ramps; A. General: This Phase is for the construction of the actual interchange structures and facilities . All of these, with the exception of the south Cook Street ramp bridge abutment for the railroad crossing are within CalTrans ROW. Initially, CalTrans District 11 was to AAA this Phase . For the reasons discussed in Phase II above, Staff is pursuing the Lead Agent AAA of this Phase . 6 I-10 & Cook Street Interchange Project Status Update, February 1995 Projects 658/659/660-95 B. Environmental Review: The ED has been prepared and adopted by City Council . It has received all sign-offs required from CalTrans & FHWA, and has been filed with the Riverside County Clerk and the State Clearing House. C. Right-of-Way: The required ROW for this phase is currently in the appraisal process . At CalTrans insistence , the City retained Riverside County Real Property Division, (Contract #C08090) , to manage the ROW acquisition. They in turn selected the Appraiser who is in the process of developing the Appraisal Report. The offers to the land owners will be made immediately after approval of the appraisal report by CalTrans . D. Utility Relocation: The only utility relocation in this Phase is the final Post Bridge construction relocation of the IID feed to the Southern Pacific Rail Road, (SPRR) facilities . Provis- ions have been made for other utilities to ultimately locate on the two bridge crossings . However, the project Transverse Easement with the SPRR does not grant the right for any utility to cross the railroad property except as required for the highway itself . This is being noted to the affected utilities . E. Construction: This will require two contracts; a) one with a CalTrans qualified/approved construction management firm, and b) one for the actual construction of the bridges , retaining walls , roadways , signals and landscaping. Under terms of an agreement with CalTrans D08 , the landscaping may be broken out and deferred up to two years , pending installation of a water main to the area by local development . F. Schedule: Optimistic 1 . CalTrans MOU 24 Mar 95 2 . ROW Acquisition: O CalTrans Appraisal Approval 17 Mar 95 O Make Offers 31 Mar 95 O Close Escrow 26 May 95 3 . Go to Bid: O Soil Haul 29 Mar 95 o Construction Management 19 Apr 95 o Structures/Roadway/Signals/ (Landscape) 21 Jun 95 4 . Award Construction: O Soil Haul 27 Apr 95 O Construction Management 25 May 95 o Structures/Roadway/Signals/ (Landscape) 24 Aug 95 5 . Construction Complete : O Soil Haul 28 Apr 95 O Structures/Roadway/Signals/ (Landscape) 31 Mar 97 7 I-10 & Cook Street Interchange Project Status Update, February 1995 Projects 658/659/660-95 G. Financing: All "Commitment" and "Obligation" elements of the project CVAG Reimbursement Agreement have been complied. This phase of the total project is a part of the State SB300 program in Cycle 6 . Construction is scheduled to be awarded prior to June 30 , 1996 . CVAG has released availability to all project funds except "Construction" "ROW" funds are available as required. "Utility Relocation" funds are available as required. Construction reimbursement dollars will be requested for this Phase in the Executive meeting of May. "Environmental Mitigation" funds are available. Rich.rd J. Fol,kers , P .E. CITY COUNCIL ACTION: APPROVED DENIED RECE VU:i---. / - O:" ;ER MFAT AYES NOES: ABSENY: ABSTAI11 RJF:GAS/ds VERIFIED AY: 4.-; Original on File with City Clerk's Office cc: Ray Diaz Paul Gibson Carlos Ortega Gregg Holtz G. Alan Smith (658stat6.ioi id:\wp\pi\cpd) 8