Agenda Item Wording:
title
Award Contract, Transfer Funds & Appropriation Funds for Tulare Ave. Project: Authorize the City Manager to award the construction contract with Yarbs Grading & Paving for Tulare Avenue Major Road Rehabilitation from Demaree to Cotta in the amount of $5,202,396.00; authorize the transfer of $400,000 within the RMRA (SB1) Fund between projects; and authorize the additional appropriation of $3,065,000 from the RMRA (SB1) Fund.
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Deadline for Action: 4/21/2025
Submitting Department: Community Development
Contact Name and Phone Number:
Jonathan Frausto, Associate Engineer, Jonathan.frausto@visalia.city, 713-4369
Diego Corvera, Senior Civil Engineer, Diego.Corvera@visalia.city, 713-4209
Dolores Verduzco, Financial Analyst, Dolores.Verduzco@visalia.city, 713-4540
Chris Crawford, City Engineer, Chris.Crawford@visalia.city 713-4331
Jason Huckleberry, Engineering and Building Department Director, Jason.Huckleberry@visalia.city, (559) 713-4495
Department Recommendation:
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Authorize the City Manager to award the construction contract with Yarbs Paving and Grading for RFB 23-24-18, Tulare Avenue Major Road Rehabilitation from Demaree to Roeben in the amount of $5,202,396; and
2. Authorize the transfer of $400,000 within the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA) (SB1) Fund from the Whitendale Ave Road Rehabilitation project to the Tulare Ave Major Road Rehabilitation project; and
3. Authorize the additional appropriation of $3,065,000 from the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA) (SB1) Fund.
Background Discussion:
The City of Visalia is currently maintaining a street network of approximately 507 centerline miles of roadway and nearly 100 million square feet of pavement. In an effort to appropriately direct maintenance activities and optimize the use of the limited maintenance funds available, staff incorporated a Pavement Management Program (PMP) 11 years ago, following the lead of other similarly sized California municipalities.
Tulare Avenue, as identified in the Pavement Management Plan, was selected for resurfacing. This project includes a pavement rehabilitation of approximately 2.9 miles of roadway on Tulare Avenue from Demaree to Cotta Street. The rehabilitation work includes removing isolated areas of pavement failures, also known as digouts, grinding the existing pavement section and overlay with hot mix asphalt. In addition to these improvements the project will also upgrade some of the existing curb ramps to meet current Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements and Public Rights-of-Way Access Guidelines (PROWAG). The project will incorporate some traffic signal improvements at intersections throughout the corridor. With these improvements the City of Visalia is implementing multimodal transportation enhancements such as Class IV Bike lanes through the use of modular curbing and on-street parking protection with the additive alternate bid.
Example of installed Modular Curb
This project was originally intended to be combined with Tulare Avenue Major Road Rehab from Roeben to Demaree. However due to different funding source constraints we were unable to keep this combined in order to hit grant deadlines. It is expected that the project could proceed later this year.
Bidding Process:
Staff advertised RFB 23-24-18 for the Tulare Avenue Major Street Rehabilitation (Demaree - Cotta) on February 27, 2025, with a bid close date on April 8th, 2025. The project was split with the Base Bid encompassing the plan delineated improvements and an Additive Alternate relating to modular curb for bicycle lanes. Based on the project specifications, the lowest responsive bidder was based on the total bid amount of the Base Bid plus the Additive Alternate bid. At the time of bid opening staff received six (6) bids, below are the three (3) lowest responsive bidders.
|
Base Bid + Additive Alternate |
|
1 |
Yarbs Grading & Paving |
Fowler, CA |
$5,202,396.00 |
|
2 |
Avison Construction |
Madera, CA |
$5,358,836.00 |
|
3 |
Granite Construction |
Fresno, CA |
$5,731,378.00 |
City staff proceeded to review all six (6) bids submitted and the Yarbs Grading & Paving bid proposal was determined to be the lowest responsive bid. The references provided by Yarbs Grading & Paving have been verified. The references provided were from the City of Visalia, County of Fresno, and City of Farmersville all of whom were called by city staff with favorable responses from all references. Additionally, Yarbs Grading and Paving has performed many past projects successfully for the City of Visalia. As a result, staff recommends that the construction contract be awarded to Yarbs Grading & Paving for the Base Bid + Additive Alternate amount of $5,202,396.
Budget Shortfall:
The Major Road Rehabilitation on Tulare Avenue from Demaree to Cotta Street has a budget shortfall of around $3.46M. The original Project, which was started in 2020, had estimates in line with the project scope being an overlay, ADA ramp upgrades, and traffic signal improvements. A couple of factors contributing to this shortfall are change in scope and an increase in construction costs. The project was changed to a grind and overlay with areas of dig outs. This change was made to help fix the existing cross slopes, rutting, surface cracks, and reset the clock on any future maintenance endeavors. Lastly, construction costs have seen a significant rise since the year 2020 when this project was originally estimated. From January of 2021 to January of 2025, staff has seen a 40% increase on labor and expenses.
Fiscal Impact:
The Major Road Rehabilitation on Tulare Avenue from Demaree to Cotta Street is funded using the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBGP) and the Highway Infrastructure Program (HIP) through the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA) (SB1).
|
Tulare Ave from Demaree to Cotta (CP0602) |
|
Project Funding Source |
|
|
Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBGP) & Highway Infrastructure Program (HIP) |
$ 2,989,000 |
|
Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Act (RMRA) (SB1) |
$ 400,000 |
|
Total Project Funding |
$ 3,389,000 |
|
|
|
|
Estimated Project Costs |
|
|
Project Management |
$ 120,000 |
|
Construction |
$ 5,202,396 |
|
Construction Contingency (~15.0%) |
$ 780,500 |
|
Construction Management |
$ 420,000 |
|
Construction Services (Materials Testing, Inspection, etc.) |
$ 330,000 |
|
|
|
|
Total Estimated Project Costs |
$ 6,852,896 |
|
|
|
|
Surplus (Deficit) |
($3,463,896) |
|
Round to |
$ 3,465,000 |
|
|
|
|
Transfer RMRA (SB1) funds (Fund 113) from the Whitendale Road Rehab project (CP0760) |
$ 400,000 |
|
RMRA (SB1) Appropriation (Fund 113) |
$ 3,065,000 |
|
|
|
Tulare Avenue from Demaree to Cotta, as identified in our Pavement Management Plan, has needed roadway maintenance and repair for quite some time. Staff has recommended to increase the construction contingency to 15 percent to account for unusual areas of pavement rehabilitation and curb repair not accounted for on the bid plans and specifications.
Due to the above-identified budget deficit, staff recommends the transfer of $400,000 within the RMRA (SB1) Fund 113 between projects and the additional appropriation of $3,065,000 from the RMRA (SB1) Fund 113.
Transfer of Funds:
The transfer of funds of $400,000 within the RMRA (SB1) Fund from the Whitendale Ave Road Rehabilitation from Mooney Blvd to Court St project to the Tulare Ave Major Road Rehabilitation from Demaree St to Cotta St project is being recommended as the Whitendale Ave project is in the early stages of the preliminary engineering phase. RMRA (SB1) funding in the amount $3.7 million were approved by City Council on June 17, 2024. Upon the approval of the transfer of the RMRA (SB1) funds between these projects, $3.3 million will remain budgeted towards the Whitendale Ave project.
Appropriation of Funds:
RMRA (SB1) funds in the amount of $400,000 from funding fiscal year 2023-24 were approved by Council on June 5, 2023. Staff recommends the additional appropriation of $3,065,000 be advanced from the RMRA (SB1) fiscal year 2025-26 allocation to fully fund construction. RMRA (SB1) funds are allocated to the city on an annual basis. There are sufficient funds available in the RMRA (SB1) Fund to advance funds to the Tulare Ave Road Rehabilitation project. Estimates published by the state of California as of January 2025 show the City of Visalia is projected to receive $3.7 million from the RMRA (SB1) fiscal year 2025-26 allocation. The state of California will publish updated RMRA (SB1) revenue estimates in May 2025. Staff will return to Council at a future date to request approval to designate the remaining RMRA 2025-26 allocation to a specific project(s).
Prior Council Action:
June 5, 2023
Adopted Resolution No. 2023-20 to designate SB1 RMRA 2023-24 funding to 1) Tulare Ave Road Rehab from Demaree to Cotta; 2) Plaza Drive Intersection Improvements; and 3) Center and Acequia Street Rehabilitation.
July 18, 2022
Accepted and approved the appropriation of Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBGP) funds and Highway Infrastructure Program (HIP) funds totaling $2,989,000 to the Major Street Rehabilitation - Tulare Ave from Demaree St to Cotta St Project.
June 7, 2021
Council received 2nd staff presentation on parking protected bike lane concept along Tulare Ave with multi modal Intersection enhancements. Pubic feedback was received and presented to Council.
April 5, 2021
Council received staff presentation on parking protected bike lane concept along Tulare Ave with multi modal Intersection enhancements.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to Authorize the City Manager to enter into a contract with Yarbs Grading and Paving for RFB 23-24-18, Tulare Avenue Major Road Rehabilitation from Demaree to Cotta, in the amount of $5,202,396.00; authorize the transfer of $400,000 within the RMRA (SB1) Fund from the Whitendale Ave Road Rehabilitation from Mooney to Court project to the Tulare Ave Road Rehabilitation from Demaree to Cotta project; and authorize the appropriation of $3,065,000 in Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (SB1) funds.
end
Environmental Assessment Status:
Environmental assessment has been cleared by Caltrans.
Attachments:
1. Yarbs Grading and Paving Ownership Disclosure Form
2. Project Location Map
3. Yarbs Grading and Paving Draft Contract