Agenda Item Wording:
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Award contract and transfer funds for Tulare Avenue Project - Authorize the City Manager to award the construction contract to Don Berry Construction Inc. for the Tulare Avenue major road rehabilitation from Roeben to Demaree project in the amount of $4,473,867; authorize the transfer of $1,495,000 within the road maintenance and rehabilitation account (Senate Bill 1) fund between projects and authorize the transfer of $25,000 from the annual replace and relocate sanitary sewer mains project (CP9456).
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Prepared by:
Jonathan Frausto, Associate Engineer, Jonathan.frausto@visalia.gov, 713-4369
Diego Corvera, Senior Civil Engineer, Diego.Corvera@visalia.gov, 713-4209
Dolores Verduzco, Financial Analyst, Dolores.Verduzco@visalia.gov, 713-4540
Chris Crawford, City Engineer, Chris.Crawford@visalia.gov, 713-4331
Jason Huckleberry, Engineering and Building Department Director, Jason.Huckleberry@visalia.gov, 713-4495
Department Recommendation:
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to execute a construction contract with Don Berry Construction, Inc. for RFB 25-26-07 for the Tulare Avenue major street rehabilitation (Roeben to Demaree) project in the amount of $4,473,867, authorize the transfer of $1,495,000 within the road maintenance and rehabilitation account (RMRA/SB1) fund from the Whitendale Avenue road rehabilitation project and authorize the transfer of $25,000 from the annual replace and relocate sanitary sewer mains project (CP9456).
Summary:
This project award will initiate the construction phase for the rehabilitation of Tulare Avenue from Roeben Street to Demaree Street. Improvements are limited to complete pavement resurfacing, specific areas of street reconstruction and rehabilitation, targeted repairs to curbs, gutters, sidewalks, drain inlets, accessible ramps, sanitary sewer manholes, as well as modifications and upgrades to existing traffic signal equipment throughout the corridor.
The striping of the roadway, once improvements have been completed, is included in this project award. However, due to the impact of this project extending a Class IV protected bike lane from Demaree to Roeben, additional public outreach is necessary and will be presented to residents along Tulare Avenue in a specific public meeting to be coordinated by staff. That public outreach meeting is anticipated for late February or early March 2026. Once staff has met and received comments from the residents along Tulare Avenue, the striping layouts for this project will be presented to Council along with the public feedback received. That presentation to Council is anticipated to be in March of this year. By moving to award this project before final striping layouts are approved by Council, staff will be able to work with the contractor to order long lead items such as video detection equipment. This allows traffic signal upgrades to be completed prior to pavement improvements which are intended to be performed during the summer, prior to schools going back into session.
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 PMP, was selected for resurfacing. This project includes a pavement rehabilitation of approximately 1.5 miles of roadway on Tulare Avenue from Roeben to Demaree Street. The rehabilitation work includes removing isolated areas of pavement failures, also known as digouts, grinding the existing pavement section and overlaying 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 rehabilitate selected curb, gutter and sidewalk, drain inlets, sanitary sewer manholes, and incorporate various 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. The striping layouts associated with these bike lanes will be presented to the impacted Tulare Avenue residents in a public outreach meeting. The results of that meeting and a final striping layout will be presented to Council for final approval prior to project striping.
This project was originally intended to be combined with Tulare Avenue major road rehab from Demaree to Cotta Street. However, due to different funding source constraints staff was unable to keep this combined in order to meet grant deadlines.
Project Impacts:
The Tulare Avenue major road rehabilitation from Roeben to Demaree project will impact residents and traffic conditions both during construction and following project completion. The project has been designed to minimize these impacts while providing clear and timely information to affected residents.
The project corridor includes three schools within the construction area. To reduce potential impacts to school traffic, the project is attempting to complete major road reconstruction activities during the summer months when most schools are on break. The timing is expected to alleviate congestion during peak hour at all major intersections.
In addition, the implementation of protected bike lane improvements will result in a modified on-street parking configuration for residents along the corridor. Consistent with the previous project, on-street parking will no longer be located adjacent to the curb and gutter. The bike lanes and buffer are being moved adjacent to the curb and gutter and parking is being moved in the roadway next to the travel lanes. This configuration, in combination with the modular curb shown above, allows for the bike lane to be classified as a protected Class IV. Removal of any on-street parking has been kept to a minimum.
Below is the typical cross section for Tulare Avenue:
Tulare Avenue from Roeben to Demaree
Public Outreach:
Following direction from Council during the construction phase of the previous segment of Tulare Avenue, staff is intending to host a public outreach meeting with all affected residents along Tulare Avenue prior to construction start. This meeting will serve to inform the residents of the upcoming change from curb-adjacent parking to the configuration shown above, discuss all parking impacts this will have throughout the corridor, and provide information on the construction process/impacts and anticipated schedule. Following this public outreach meeting, staff will present all residents’ concerns and any changes made to the layout to City Council for final approval.
Bidding Process:
Staff advertised RFB 25-26-07 for the Tulare Avenue major street rehabilitation (Roeben to Demaree) on October 6th, 2025, with a bid close date on November 18th, 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 eight (8) bids, below are the three (3) lowest responsive bidders.
|
Base Bid + Additive Alternate |
|
1 |
Don Berry Construction |
Kingsburg, CA |
$4,473,867.00 |
|
2 |
Agee Construction |
Clovis, CA |
$4,509,471.00 |
|
3 |
Yarbs Grading and Paving |
Fowler, CA |
$4,942,375.00 |
City staff proceeded to review all eight (8) bids submitted and the Don Berry Construction bid proposal was determined to be the lowest responsive bid. The references provided by Don Berry Construction have been verified. The references provided were from the City of Kingsburg, City of Reedley, County of Madera, and others who were called by city staff with favorable responses from all references. As a result, staff recommends that the construction contract be awarded to Don Berry Construction for the base bid plus additive alternate amount totaling $4,473,867.
Fiscal Impact:
Budget Shortfall:
The major road rehabilitation on Tulare Avenue from Roeben to Demaree Street has a budget shortfall of approximately $1.52M. 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 digouts. These digouts occur mainly in travel lanes and intersections. This change was made to help fix the existing 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, the California Construction Cost Index shows an increase of approximately 40%.
Budget Overview:
The major road rehabilitation on Tulare Avenue from Roeben to Demaree Street is funded using the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBGP) through the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA) (SB1).
|
Tulare Ave from Roeben to Demaree (CP0603) |
|
Project Funding Source |
|
|
Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBGP) |
$ 3,086,000 |
|
Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Act (RMRA) (SB1) |
$ 835,000 |
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Total Project Funding |
$ 3,921,000 |
|
|
|
|
Estimated Project Costs |
|
|
Project Management (Project Design & Management) |
$ 30,000 |
|
Construction |
$ 4,473,867 |
|
Construction Contingency (~10.0%) |
$ 450,000 |
|
Construction Management (City Consultant) |
$ 275,000 |
|
Construction Management (Staff Time) |
$ 25,000 |
|
Construction Services (Inspection) |
$ 75,000 |
|
Construction Services (Material Testing) |
$ 75,000 |
|
Construction Services (Independent Assurance) |
$ 10,000 |
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Construction Services (Construction Staking) |
$ 25,000 |
|
|
|
|
Total Estimated Project Costs |
$ 5,438,867 |
|
|
|
|
Surplus (Deficit) |
($1,517,867) |
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Round to |
$ 1,520,000 |
|
|
|
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Transfer RMRA (SB1) funds (Fund 113) from the Whitendale Road Rehab project (CP0760) |
$ 1,495,000 |
|
Transfer Annual Replace and Relocate Sanitary Sewer Mains Project (CP9456) |
$ 25,000 |
Due to the above-identified budget deficit, staff recommends the transfer of $1,495,000 within the RMRA (SB1) Fund 113 from the Whitendale road rehab project (CP0760) and transferring $25,000 from the annual replace and relocate sanitary sewer mains project (CP9456) to the Tulare Avenue major road rehabilitation from Demaree to Roeben.
Transfer of Funds (SB1):
A transfer of $1,495,000 within the RMRA (SB1) Fund is recommended from the Whitendale Avenue road rehabilitation project (Mooney Boulevard to Court Street) to the Tulare Avenue major road rehabilitation project (Roeben to Demaree Street). The Whitendale Avenue project is in the preliminary engineering phase and does not currently require full construction funding.
City Council previously approved $3,700,000 in RMRA (SB1) funding for the Whitendale Avenue project on June 17, 2024. Following that action, $400,000 was transferred to the Tulare Avenue road rehabilitation project (Demaree to Cotta), resulting in a remaining balance of $3,300,000 for Whitendale Avenue. With the approval of this current transfer, $1,805,000 will remain budgeted for the Whitendale Avenue project.
As the Whitendale Avenue project continues through design over the coming years, staff will work to re-allocate and replenish additional SB1 funding to ensure appropriate funding levels are restored prior to the construction phase.
Transfer of Funds (annual replace and relocate sanitary sewer main):
The Tulare Avenue major road rehabilitation project (CP0603) is funded with federal Surface Transportation Program (STP) funds, as well as state SB1 Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA) funds. These funding sources are not eligible to cover costs associated with the sanitary sewer system, including sewer manhole frames.
During the bidding process, staff required this work item to be bid as a separate line item to ensure that the cost could be properly allocated to an eligible funding source. Upon bid opening and selection of the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, the total cost for the line item pertaining to sewer manhole frame replacement item was $20,925.
Accounting for any unforeseen conditions encountered in the field and the additional staff time required to complete the work, a transfer amount of $25,000 is being requested from the annual replace and relocate sanitary sewer main’s project (CP9456). There is currently $1,048,825 budgeted from the Wastewater Treatment Plant fund (431) for this capital project. With the approval of this current transfer, $1,023,825 will remain budgeted for the annual replace and relocate sanitary sewer main’s project (CP9456).
Prior Council Action:
November 17, 2025 Staff presentation to Council for Tulare Avenue bike lane configurations associated with the first phase project from Cotta Street to Demaree Street.
June 16, 2025 Adopted Resolution No. 2025-41 to designate 2025/26 SB1 RMRA funding of $3,900,000 to the Tulare Avenue road rehabilitation projects from Roeben to Cotta. 1) Tulare Avenue Roeben to Demaree project ($835,000) and 2) Tulare Avenue Demaree to Cotta project ($3,065,000).
July 18, 2022 Accepted and authorized the appropriation of 2,989,000 of STBGP and HIP funds for the Tulare Ave from Demaree St to Cotta St project and $3,086,000 of STBG funds for the Tulare Ave from Roeben St to Demaree St project.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to authorize the City Manager to execute a construction contract with Don Berry Construction, Inc. for RFB 25-26-07, Tulare Avenue Major Street Rehabilitation (Roeben to Demaree) in the amount of $4,473,867; authorize the transfer of $1,495,000 within the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA/SB1) fund from the Whitendale Avenue road rehabilitation project and authorize the transfer of $25,000 from the annual replace and relocate sanitary sewer mains project (CP9456) to the Tulare Avenue project.
Environmental Assessment Status: Environmental assessment has been cleared by Caltrans.
CEQA Review: NEPA/CEQA are completed.
Deadline for Action: 1/20/2026
Attachments:
1. Don Berry construction ownership disclosure form
2. Project location map
3. Don Berry Construction draft contract