Agenda Item Wording:
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Traffic and Construction Impacts - Receive a staff presentation outlining the construction phases of work, traffic detours, closures and resident impacts for the Shirk Street Capacity Enhancement Project and provide feedback to staff.
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Deadline for Action: 3/17/2025
Submitting Department: Community Development
Contact Name and Phone Number:
Diego Corvera, Senior Civil Engineer, Diego.Corvera@visalia.city, 713-4209
Chris Crawford, City Engineer, chris.crawford@visalia.city, 713-4331
Jason Huckleberry, Engineering and Building Department Director, Jason.Huckleberry@visalia.city, 713-4495
Department Recommendation:
Staff recommends that City Council accept the construction phasing plan and staff presentation on the construction impacts, traffic detours, street closures and resident impacts associated with the Shirk Street Capacity Enhancement Project.
Background Discussion:
The Shirk Capacity Enhancement project spans from School Ave. to Riggin Ave. and consists of widening the east side of Shirk St. at various locations to accommodate four lanes of travel with a center two-way left turn lane, buffered Class II bike lanes and the installation of approximately 8,200 lineal feet of 48” diameter sewer main and associated infrastructure in the existing street. The project will modify existing traffic signals to accommodate the new street configuration as well as install a new traffic signal at Doe Ave. and Shirk St.
As directed by the City Council through a prior budget process, the operational improvement widening of Shirk Street between School Avenue and Riggin Avenue will be implemented as soon as possible, and the full, ultimate arterial street design requirements will be implemented as a subsequent phase, as further development occurs, and the needed right of way is dedicated to the City. City staff estimates that this Shirk corridor capacity enhancement project will operate at a reasonable level of service for a minimum of 10 years.
This project will have significant impacts to the traffic on the roadways largely stemming from the installation of 48” sewer main that is to be installed 16ft-18ft below street grade. This size of pipe will require robust trenching operations as well as stock piling of soil spoils during construction. These operations demand that portions of Shirk St. be closed to traffic to ensure the safety of the public, City personnel and the contractor’s personnel.
Project Phase & Traffic Control:
The project is expected to be constructed in 3 phases as follows:
- Phase 1 - Riggin Ave. to Doe Ave. - Installation of sewer main from north of Riggin Ave. (northerly limits of the project) to Ferguson Ave followed by roadway construction - Closure of Shirk St. between Riggin Ave. and Ferguson Ave. Traffic management from Ferguson Ave. to Doe Ave.
- Phase 2 - Hillsdale Ave. to Goshen Ave. - Installation of sewer main from School Ave. to Goshen Ave. followed by roadway construction, this will involve a moving hard closure from Hillsdale Ave. to Goshen Ave.
- Phase 3 - Goshen Ave. to Doe Ave. - Final segment of sewer to be installed followed by final roadway segment - Closure between Goshen Ave. to Doe Ave.
Phase 1 - March 2025 - May 2025
Phase 1A: The Riggin Ave. and Shirk St. intersection will need to be closed to install the sewer mainline. This is an accelerated closure timeline as we are accommodating the surrounding commercial development construction schedule. It is critical for the surrounding work to complete the underground sewer installation to keep to the commercial development paving schedule. This will ultimately benefit the Shirk project and the forth coming Riggin Widening (Kelsey St. to Shirk St.) project by keeping the commercial work moving and allowing all contractors for all projects to perform their respective work without being in each other’s way. During this intersection closure (defined as area closed to traffic) eastbound traffic on Riggin Ave. will experience a soft closure (soft closure: open to local traffic only) signage at Plaza Dr. with hard closure (no traffic allowed beyond this point) signage at Clancy St. Traffic will be directed north on Plaza Dr. to Ave. 320 or South on Plaza Dr. to Goshen Ave. to be rerouted back to Riggin Ave. For westbound traffic on Riggin Ave. a soft closure will be in place at Akers St. with a hard closure at Denton St. Traffic will be directed north on Akers St. to Ave. 320 or South on Akers St. to Goshen Ave. be rerouted back to Riggin Ave.
Shirk St. will have a soft closure for northbound traffic at the Ferguson Ave. and Shirk St. intersection. There will be a hard closure just north of Oriole Ave.
Phase 1B: Shirk St. will be closed from just north of Ferguson Ave. to just South of Riggin Ave. Ferguson and Riggin are planned to remain open during this phase of the work. Oriole Ave will be closed (hard closure) entirely during this phase. Northbound and Southbound traffic will be detoured around this area utilizing Ferguson Ave., Akers St., and Riggin Ave.
Phase 2- May 2025 - September 2025
Shirk St. will have a soft closure from Hillsdale Ave. to Goshen Ave during this phase of the work. Smaller hard closures will occur in segments between these locations as work progresses. Southbound traffic on Shirk St. will be rerouted with a soft closure at Goshen Ave. Thru traffic will be directed east and west on Goshen Ave. to Akers St. or Plaza Dr. Local traffic only will be permitted through the soft closure phase. Northbound thru traffic on Shirk St. will be restricted by a soft closure at Hillsdale Ave. Thru traffic will be directed east and west on HWY 198 with traffic detour signage on the highway and east on Hillsdale Ave. to Akers St. to be rerouted back to Shirk St.
The first hard closure will occur between School Ave. and Hurley Ave. As work progresses north on Shirk St, the hard closure at Hurley Ave. will change to block northbound thru traffic and southbound hard closure will be placed at Pershing Ave. Local traffic will continue to have access. As work continues beyond Pershing Ave. Hurley Ave will be opened again for local traffic and the hard closure at Pershing Ave. will be in place for northbound traffic. At this point the Goshen Ave. soft closure will be a hard closure, and traffic will be routed east and west on Goshen Ave. to Akers St. and Plaza Dr. Careful coordination will done with the various residential and commercial areas that have only a single access to Shirk St along this segment. The following areas have been identified:
- Residential development on W Nicholas Ct.
- County subdivision west of W Nicholas Ct.
- Residential properties directly fronting Shirk St. - 934 N Shirk St.
- Commercial complex west of Shirk St. along Pershing Ave.
Staff may consider weekend work to minimize impacts to these properties. However, this would be an additional cost to the project.
Phase 2 will also encompass sewer main installation and boring under the railroad at the Goshen Ave. and Shirk St. intersection. During this phase Staff anticipates that Goshen Ave. will remain open for eastbound and westbound traffic with lane closures and lane shifts but Shirk St. will be closed just south of the intersection and possibly just north of the intersection for the boring operations. The traffic detours will route traffic via Akers St., Plaza Dr., HWY 198 and Goshen Ave.
Phase 3 - September 2025 - January 2026
Shirk St. from Goshen Ave. to Doe St. will be closed to complete the sewer main installation and final segment of roadway construction. The traffic detour will route traffic via Ferguson Ave., Goshen Ave., Kelsey St. and Akers St. to route traffic away from this final segment of Shirk St. Access will be maintained to the businesses on the west and east sides of the roadway during this phase.
This traffic phasing as proposed is subject to adjustments as construction work commences. Depending on field conditions and construction progress some of the identified hard closure locations may need to be adjusted. Public notification will be provided promptly for any adjustments that impact traffic circulation during the project construction.
Outreach
Throughout the project staff will be working with the construction manager to coordinate a robust outreach campaign that will provide the following public notifications and information:
- Construction Mailers will be sent to properties within ¼ mile radius from the project with contractor information 7-days prior to work starting.
- Public meeting mailers will be sent to properties with ½ mile radius from the project 1.5-2 weeks prior to public outreach meeting.
- Public outreach meeting will be held Wednesday, March 19th, at Ridgeview middle school from 5:30pm to 6:30pm.
- A text alert number will be created and provided to the public notifying them of detour changes, closures, and general construction progress.
- City web page will be created and updated with construction information.
- Press releases will be sent out as project milestones are met and when the project transitions from each phase.
City staff intends to notify the public of all pertinent project information to mitigate inconveniences and frustrations that often arises with large street construction projects like this one.
Projects Timeline:
Shirk Capacity Enhancement Project - Construction awarded September 2024, project anticipated to begin in March 2025 and be completed by early 2026.
Phase 1 - March - May 2025
Phase 2 - May 2025 - September 2025
Phase 3 - September 2025 - January 2026
Fiscal Impact:
The Shirk St Capacity Enhancement Project is a multi-funded project with funds budgeted from the Gas Tax Fund (111), Wastewater Trunkline Fund (231), Storm and Sewer Construction fund (221) and Measure R local Fund (131).
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Shirk Capacity Enhancement Project Budget |
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Shirk Street Project Budget |
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Gas Tax (fund 111) |
$2,430,699.20 |
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Measure R Local (Fund 131) |
$6,141,000.00 |
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Wastewater Trunkline (Fund 231) |
$13,294,721.69 |
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Storm Sewer Construction (Fund 221) |
$845,017.00 |
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Total Project Funding |
$22,711,437.89 |
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Estimated Project Costs: |
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Project Management |
$350,000.00 |
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Design Services |
$810,000.00 |
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Acquisition Cost (ROW) |
$396,299.24 |
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Misc Administration Fees (RR permit) |
$3,000.00 |
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Utility Relocation SCE (distribution pole relocation) |
$150,000.00 |
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Cal Water Relocation |
$35,000.00 |
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Railroad Coordination |
$50,000.00 |
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Construction Sewer Installation Base Bid (B) + CO#1 |
$10,544,408.00 |
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Construction Street Construction Base Bid (A) |
$6,446,225.00 |
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Construction Contingency |
$1,098,014.50 |
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Construction Management ~3% (NV5, Inc) |
$452,167.06 |
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Construction Materials Testing Services (NV5, Inc) |
$272,323.60 |
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Construction Services (Inspection, Survey) |
$960,993.28 |
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Total Estimated Project Costs: |
$21,568,430.68 |
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Surplus (Deficit) |
$1,143,007.21 |
Shirk St Capacity Enhancement Project is fully funded no funding appropriations are needed currently.
Prior Council Action:
January 11, 2025
Award Construction Material Testing Services: Authorized the City Manager to execute an agreement with NV5, Inc. in the amount of $272,323.60 to provide construction materials acceptance testing services for the Shirk St Capacity Enhancement project.
December 16, 2024
Construction Change Order: City Council approved construction change order #1 in the amount of $546,408 to Avison Construction Inc. for the Shirk Capacity Enhancement Project and appropriated $845,017 from the Storm Sewer Construction Fund (221).
October 21, 2024
Construction Management Services Contract Award: Authorized the City Manager to execute an agreement with NV5, Inc. to provide construction management services for two City Projects 1) Shirk Street Capacity Enhancement Project from School Ave to Riggin Ave and 2) Riggin Avenue widening Project from Kelsey St to Shirk St in the amount of $545,707.60 & $259,369.23 respectively, combined total of $805,076.83.
September 21, 2024
RFB Award & Appropriation of Funds: Authorize City Manager to award the construction contract to Avison Construction Inc. for RFB 23-24-19, Shirk Capacity Enhancement Project from School Avenue to Riggin Avenue in the amount of $16,444,225.00 and authorize additional appropriation of funds.
October 16, 2023
Authorized the City Manager to approve Amendment No. 2 with Quad Knopf Consultants for additional professional design services in the amount not to exceed $139,635.
September 20, 2021
Public hearing to consider and adopt a Resolution of Necessity to acquire portions from three separate properties APN 077-780-003; 077-640-001 and 077-650-001 generally located along Shirk Street between Riggin Avenue and Goshen Avenue for the purpose of widen Shirk Street.
August 3, 2020
Adoption of Resolution No. 2020-42 authorized the acceptance of portions of an “Irrevocable Offer of Dedication” for street right-of-way on the east side Shirk Street just north of Ferguson Avenue and between Doe Avenue and Goshen Avenue. In addition, adopted resolution No. 2020-43 designating a portion of City owned property located at APN 077-710-077 which is property located along the east side of Shirk Street just south of Ferguson Avenue, as part of the public City Street System.
October 21, 2019
Authorized the City Manager to enter into a contract with Quad Knopf, Inc. for RFP 19-20-08 to prepare Plans, Specifications, and Estimates for the Shirk Capacity Enhancement and Sewer Trunkline Project in the amount not to exceed $533,746.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to accept the construction phasing plan and staff presentation on the construction impacts, traffic detours, street closures and resident impacts associated with the Shirk Street Capacity Enhancement Project.
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Environmental Assessment Status:
CEQA Exemption - 2024-48
Attachments:
1. Project Location Map
2. Project Traffic Impacts and Outreach Presentation