Agenda Item Wording:
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Award professional services contract - Authorize the City Manager to award a professional services contract to Roadway Asset Services for the update of the City’s pavement management program in the amount of $499,929 and appropriate $190,000 from the Gas Tax Fund.
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Prepared by:
Katherine Woodhull-Fuget, Associate Engineer, Katherine.Woodhull-Fuget@visalia.gov, (559) 713-4447
Eric Bons, Senior Civil Engineer, Eric.Bons@visalia.gov, (559) 713-4350
Chris Crawford, City Engineer, Chris.Crawford@visalia.gov, (559) 713-4331
Jason Huckleberry, Engineering & Building Director, Jason.Huckleberry@visalia.gov, (559) 713-4495
Department Recommendation: Staff recommends that Council authorize the City Manager to award a professional services contract to Roadway Asset Services, LLC for the update of the City’s pavement management program in the amount of $499,929 and appropriate $190,000 from the Gas Tax Fund.
Summary:
Request for Proposals 24-25-54 (RFP) for professional services for the update of the City’s pavement management program was issued October 10, 2025, and five proposals were received. Upon initial evaluation of the proposals by City staff, three consultants were selected to move forward to the interview phase of the selection process: Applied Research Associates (ARA) (Ventura, CA), Infrastructure Management Services (IMS) (Largo, FL), and Roadway Asset Services (RAS) (Austin, TX). Roadway Asset Services, LLC was selected from the interviewed firms based on consideration of both the written proposals and the interviews.
This project’s scope of work will include re-surveying City streets, updating data in the City’s existing Pavement Management Program (PMP) software, conducting a comprehensive assessment of road network pavement conditions, and developing a PMP report to guide future maintenance.
Background Discussion:
The City’s current pavement management program (PMP) was established in 2012, when Infrastructure Management Services (IMS) was contracted to procure infrastructure management software and conduct an initial pavement condition survey. IMS was selected out of eight proposals received in response to RFP 11-12-36. In addition to procuring software and conducting a pavement condition survey, their scope of work also included developing a five-year pavement maintenance plan and establishing an inventory of traffic signs and pedestrian ramps. The results of their efforts were implemented in 2013, guiding street maintenance and rehab projects.
In 2017, Public Works issued RFP 17-18-27 Street Field Survey & Analysis to procure services to conduct a second pavement condition survey and update the PMP. IMS was the sole proposer, and in 2018 the firm was contracted to perform the second field survey and update to the PMP. The initial results of the condition survey were presented to Council in November 2019, and the PMP report was finalized in 2020.
The PMP software, Lucity (acquired by CentralSquare Technologies early 2019), provides maintenance recommendations based on input pavement conditions data using standard pavement deterioration rates. Based on the results of the field condition surveys conducted in 2012 and 2018 and input into Lucity by IMS, the program models the continual deterioration of roadways and provides guidance on the optimal type, timing, amount, location, and budget for street maintenance.
Just like any other computer model, Lucity can only make predictions based on the data it has available. If the maintenance and road rehabilitation performed by Engineering and Public works is not recorded in the software, it will not be incorporated into the modeling calculations. Additionally, the deterioration rates used by Lucity are generalized, and may not accurately reflect the deterioration rates of individual roadways. Periodic recalibration with field condition surveys serves to keep the model as accurate as possible. Conducting field condition surveys every five or so years is recommended to maximize the functionality of the PMP.
The City issued RFP 24-25-54 to update the PMP on October 10, 2025. The requested scope of work included conducting a field pavement condition survey of all public, City-maintained streets and alleyways, including new streets constructed since the last survey (approximately 48 miles), updating the traffic sign inventory and performing retro-reflectivity testing of traffic signs, inputting all collected data into the City’s Lucity program, and developing a five-year maintenance plan.
RFP 24-25-54 closed November 13, 2025, with five proposals received. A selection committee was established with representatives from Engineering, Public Works, and Information Services. Based on evaluation of the proposals, three firms were selected by the committee to proceed to the interview phase of the selection process: Applied Research Associates (ARA) (Ventura, CA), Infrastructure Management Services (IMS) (Largo, FL), and Roadway Asset Services (RAS) (Austin, TX).
Interviews of the three firms took place on December 15, 2025. All of the firms selected for interviews provided compelling presentations and were qualified to perform the services requested. Of the three firms, staff identified RAS as the top candidate due to their thorough and well-structured proposal, their presentation during the interview, and their excellent responses and engagement during the interview Q&A which not only demonstrated a clear understanding of the scope of work but also highlighted their technical expertise. Members of the RAS project team previously worked for IMS and were involved in the initial establishment of the City’s PMP in 2012.
During the negotiations, staff refined the scope of work based on the advice of RAS. Two items included in the RFP, retro-reflectivity assessment of traffic signs and an inventory of pavement striping and marking, were removed from the scope of work. The Streets Department currently replaces signs based on a maintenance schedule, removing the need to assess retro-reflectivity, and uses other methods to keep track of pavement striping, removing the need for a new inventory at this time.
There are several items selected by city staff to include in the scope of work that go beyond the 2018 scope of work, which are elaborated on below.
Ground penetrating radar structural testing: Previously, pavement structural testing by IMS consisted solely of falling weight deflection (FWD) testing of arterial and collector roadways to gauge the structural strength of their pavement sections. The result of this testing was quantified as a structuraliIndex (SI), which was factored into the overall Pavement Condition Index (PCI) of arterial and collector roadways. The SI is also used by the PMP to aid in selecting appropriate rehabilitation strategies. This time, in addition to FWD testing, staff is also requesting the consultant conduct ground penetrating radar (GPR) on arterial and collector roadways in order to provide a more complete picture. GPR can produce a continuous profile of existing road conditions and will provide pavement and structural section thickness data. This information will significantly improve pavement modeling accuracy and will help ensure appropriate rehabilitation methods are recommended in the PMP. Currently, staff has to obtain pavement cores for each street proposed street rehabilitation project at a cost of approximately $10-$20,000 per project. Performing this GPR survey is anticipated to save the city money in the long-term. The addition of GPR is anticipated to be a one-time cost to catalog all existing major roadways with the intention that Engineering and Public Works staff will maintain the inventory moving forward by inputting road rehabilitation and construction data as projects occur. Staff anticipate FWD testing on major roads being repeated once every third calibration survey moving forward (roughly every 15 years). Both FWD and GPR are non-destructive testing methods.
Traffic Sign Inventory: In 2018, IMS inventoried and assessed the reflectivity of traffic signs on arterial and collector roadways only, which consisted of 360 test-miles. Given that Public Works maintains signs on a scheduled basis, the reflectivity assessment is no longer needed, but a more complete database is necessary. Staff are requesting that RAS inventory traffic signs, including street name blades, on all city streets consisting of 1,091 test-miles. This is anticipated to be a one-time cost to complete the sign inventory with the intention that Engineering and Public Works staff will maintain the inventory moving forward by adding new signs as they are installed.
The one-time costs of GPR and the Traffic Sign Inventory total to $111,093.50 of the total contract amount.
RAS videologger: As a part of the field condition survey, the consultant collects an enormous amount of high-resolution imagery data, including panoramic right of way imagery and 3D pavement imagery collected by the laser crack measurement system (LCMS) vehicle. All of this data will be provided to the city. RAS’ Videologger is a web-hosted, full-service image viewer that will allow staff to view pavement and ROW imagery for any surveyed location. This service will enable staff to get functional use out of the immense amount of imagery data. This service is not intended to replace Lucity but as an additional tool to help staff get the most out of the field condition survey results. Staff is proposing purchasing five years of Videologger access.
Lucity Support Service Package: To ensure city staff are able to maintain the PMP moving forward, staff have requested RAS provide support services as-needed after completion of the field condition survey and PMP report. This support package budgets approximately 85 hours of additional support on a time and materials not to exceed without further city approval basis.
Fiscal Impact:
This project is funded by the Gas Tax as shown in the table below.
|
CP0703 Pavement Management Plan |
|
Project Funding |
|
|
111 - Gas Tax |
$ 360,000.00 |
|
Expenditures |
|
|
Staff Time (Estimated) |
$ 50,000.00 |
|
RAS Base Services |
$ 350,235.50 |
|
GPR Add-On |
$ 53,498.50 |
|
Traffic Sign Inventory Add-On |
$ 56,095.00 |
|
RAS Videologger (5 years) |
$ 20,100.00 |
|
Lucity Support Package (T&M) |
$ 20,000.00 |
|
Expenditures Subtotal: |
$ 549,929.00 |
|
Budget Shortfall |
$ (189,929.00) |
|
Appropriation Request |
$ 190,000.00 |
Staff requests an appropriation of $190,000 from the Gas Tax to address the anticipated budget shortfall.
Prior Council Action:
November 18, 2019 - Presentation and discussion regarding the City of Visalia Pavement Management Program
March 19, 2018 - Council authorized execution of an agreement for RFP 17-18-27 Street Field Survey and Analysis in the amount of $299,995 to Infrastructure Management Services (IMS) and appropriation of an additional $150,000 from various Gas Tax projects.
January 14, 2013 - City staff presented an update on the development of the pavement management program, initial analysis, and conclusions.
March 5, 2012 - Council authorized execution of an agreement for RFP 11-12-36 Pavement Management Program & Asset Management Development in the amount of $241,608 to Infrastructure Management Services (IMS) and appropriation of an additional $50,000 in grant funding received from the Tulare County Association of Governments (TCAG) and $40,000 from the Gas Tax Fund.
November 21, 2011 - Council authorized issuance of an RFP to purchase Infrastructure Management Software, hire a consulting firm to perform a citywide roadway pavement inventory, and develop a Pavement Management Program along with allocating $200,000 in Gas Tax funds to pay for the software, inventory, and consulting services.
Alternatives: None recommended.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to authorize the City Manager to award a professional services contract to Roadway Asset Services, LLC for the update of the City’s pavement management program in the amount of $499,929 and appropriate $190,000 from the Gas Tax Fund.
Environmental Assessment Status: N/A
CEQA Review: N/A
Deadline for Action: 2/2/2026
Attachments:
1. Negotiated Scope of Work
2. Disclosure
3. Contract