HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 2b: Contract with All American Asphalt for the Huntington Drive Capacity Improvements ProjectSTAFF RFPORT
Development Services Department
DATE: May 15, 2012
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Jason Kruckeberg, Assistant City Manager/Development Services Director:Y4'-'
Philip A. Wray, Deputy Director of Development Services/City Engineer
Prepared by: Tim Kelleher, Assistant Engineer
SUBJECT: AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT
WITH ALL AMERICAN ASPHALT IN THE AMOUNT OF $968,000 FOR
THE HUNTINGTON DRIVE CAPACITY IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT
AND APPROVE A 10% CONTINGENCY
Recommended Action: Approve
SUMMARY
The City's 2005 Transportation Master Plan identified several intersections that are
functioning at or below acceptable Levels of Service (LOS). The Master Plan states
that the LOS will continue to worsen as traffic volumes increase over the 25 year
planning period unless action is taken.
This particular project is intended to focus on improving the next highest priority
intersections in the Transportation Master Plan. The intersections are: Huntington
Drive and Colorado Place, Huntington Drive and Santa Clara Street, and Huntington
Drive and Santa Anita Avenue. The Master Plan recommends adding various lanes to
add capacity and improve the LOS.
In 2007, the City applied for and received a grant from Metro through a Call-for-Projects
program to share in the costs of this project. Pursuant to the terms of the grant, Metro
will pay 40% of project costs and the City will pay the remaining 60%. This project will
improve the three intersections by adding lanes and upgrading the traffic signals. Some
of the major improvements are:
• Construct dual left turn lanes from Santa Anita Avenue onto Huntington Drive
• Add another through westbound lane on Huntington Drive at the Lower "Y"
• Construct a second right turn lane eastbound at Huntington Drive and Santa
Clara Street
Staff Report — Award Contract
May 15, 2012
Page 2
Plans and specifications were recently completed. The project was advertised in April
2012 and bids were opened May 8, 2012. All American Asphalt was the successful low
bidder in the amount of $968,000. It is recommended that the City Council award a
contract for the Huntington Drive Capacity Improvements in the amount of $968,000
and approve a 10% contingency.
BACKGROUND
The Huntington Drive Capacity Improvement project evolved out of the 2005 City of
Arcadia Transportation Master Plan. The Plan identified several intersections that are
at or below Level of Service (LOS) "D" and will continue to deteriorate if no action is
taken. The highest priorities from the Master Plan were the three intersections along
Santa Anita Avenue at Foothill Boulevard, Duarte Road and Live Oak Avenue and the
intersection of Huntington Drive and Sunset Boulevard. Previous projects have
improved these intersections and their accompanying LOS. The next highest priority
intersections in need of improvements are along Huntington Drive at Colorado Place,
Santa Clara Street, and Santa Anita Avenue. The Plan recommends adding lanes to
these intersections, thereby increasing vehicle capacity and the LOS.
Staff prepared a project scope to include all three intersections referred to as the
Huntington Drive Capacity Improvements. The project specifically includes: 1) a third
through lane in westbound Huntington Drive at Colorado Place, 2) a second right turn
lane in the northeast bound approach of Huntington Drive at Santa Clara Street, and 3)
a second left turn lane on both the northbound and southbound approaches of Santa
Anita Avenue at Huntington Drive. The project also includes reconstruction of medians,
parkways and channelizing islands, traffic signal improvements, and striping
modifications. See Exhibit 1 for an aerial showing the project location.
The project was initially budgeted in Fiscal Year 2009 -10. In early 2010, the City
entered into a Professional Services Agreement with KOA Corporation for project
design services. Services included surveying and right -of -way verification, preparation
of a traffic analysis, preparation of conceptual design alternatives and construction cost
estimates for each alternative, preparation of construction drawings and technical
specifications, and assistance to staff during the bidding and construction phases.
DISCUSSION
This project has several key components that are described below.
Right -of -way Acquisition from Los Angeles County
One of the most critical elements of this project is the widening of the eastbound
segment of Huntington Drive at the Santa Clara Street intersection to add a second right
turn lane. The widening requires the acquisition of a strip of land from the Arcadia
Staff Report — Award Contract
May 15, 2012
Page 3
County Park owned by the County of Los Angeles. This parcel is 5,041 square feet in
size (12 feet wide and approximately 383 feet long.) The acquisition process took
almost two years to complete because of several unusual circumstances and a
complicated process that included environmental review and two County agreements.
An Initial Study (IS) and a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) were prepared, and
the MND includes several mitigation measures requested by the County. On January 3,
2012, the City Council adopted the MND and approved both agreements.
Alley Access onto Santa Anita Avenue
Another critical element of the project is the addition of a left turn lane in both the
northbound-to-westbound and southbound-to-eastbound left turn approaches on Santa
Anita Avenue at Huntington Drive. In order to create the most efficient and safe turn
lanes, the median openings for the alleys directly north and south of Huntington Drive
must be closed off. This means left turns into and out of the alleys will no longer be
permitted.
The Huntington Drive and Santa Anita Avenue intersection handles over 50,000
vehicles on a daily basis. The intersection is congested, especially during the peak
hours, causing drivers in various directions to sit through two or more traffic signal
cycles. The current configuration of the intersection with the median openings was
common in older intersections that handled less than 50,000 vehicles and could
accommodate left turns with very few problems. However, this configuration was most
likely never intended to be used with the volume of traffic experienced today. The
median openings for the alleys contribute to delays because they create gaps that push
vehicles further away from the intersection and, consequently, it takes longer for those
vehicles to get through the intersection. On numerous occasions, the northbound-to-
westbound left turn lane in Santa Anita Avenue have been temporarily blocked by a
vehicle trying to make a southbound-to-eastbound left turn into the alley. Over the last
five years, there have been 14 reported accidents on Santa Anita Avenue from
Huntington Drive to Alta Street. This is not to say that all 14 are a direct result of the
alley access, but the alley access contributes to the potential conflicts. There is also a
concern that vehicles making the left turn from the alley south of Huntington Drive to go
south on Santa Anita Avenue are immediately upon the crosswalk across Santa Anita
Avenue at Alta Street. The City has received complaints from pedestrians that drivers
don't stop for pedestrians in that crosswalk. An in-ground flashing light system was
recently installed to warn traffic of the crossing. The left turn from the alley does not
allow adequate advance visibility and warning.
Notices of the City's intentions were mailed and/or hand delivered to all the businesses
and residents in the two blocks that have direct access to the two alleys. One e-mail of
opposition was received from Robert Dahms, the owner of the Arcadia Blues Club on
Huntington Drive. Mr. Dahms states that the left turn access is important to him as a
property owner on Huntington Drive and that he feels that the left turn movement is
Staff Report — Award Contract
May 15, 2012
Page 4
safe. A copy of his e -mail is attached as Exhibit 2. This access was studied during the
design process and the design engineer felt that there was no alternative that could
safely accommodate the alley left turns and the proposed improvements.
San Rafael Road Access at Huntington Drive
Left turn access into and out of San Rafael Road at Huntington Drive presents another
issue. San Rafael Road intersects Huntington Drive between Santa Clara Street and
Colorado Place. This segment of Huntington Drive is congested for a good portion of a
typical day and left turns at San Rafael Road are difficult to make. The project proposes
modifications to the lane striping to add a third through lane in the westbound direction.
This will potentially make it more difficult to make left turns at San Rafael Road. The
project has designed the option of a raised center median to restrict the left turns.
However, the raised median option is not recommended at this time due to work on the
Gold Line over the next few years. The neighborhood north of Huntington Drive will be
impacted by the closures on Colorado Boulevard while the old railroad bridge is
removed and a new bridge is constructed. As a result, the raised median will be
revisited in the future when the Gold Line work is completed.
Santa Anita Race Track Access from Westbound Huntington Drive
As mentioned above, the project will add a third through lane in westbound Huntington
Drive at Colorado Place. Currently, only two lanes continue through the intersection but
the street width west of Colorado Place can accommodate three lanes. In the current
configuration with the two lanes, there is room for vehicles to queue along the northerly
curb as they approach the entrance to the Santa Anita Race Track parking lot (Gate 5).
On the more heavily attended racing days, vehicles tend to queue onto Huntington
Drive against the northerly curb waiting to enter the parking lot. Initially, the project
proposed to widen Huntington Drive approaching the race track entrance to create a
queuing lane outside of the proposed three through lanes. This could be done without
any additional right -of -way because the City's right -of -way extends 20 -feet beyond the
existing curb. The offer was presented to the Race Track as a way to offset the
designation of the third through lane. Upon review, the Race Track representatives
declined the offer and are agreeable to the City's project without the additional queuing
lane. The project will, however, construct a sidewalk directly behind the curb from the
northwest corner of Huntington Drive and Colorado Place westerly to the Race Track
entrance.
With the plans and specifications completed, the right -of -way acquisition recorded, and
all agreements in place, the project is ready for construction. The most current
Engineer's Estimate for construction of the project was $1,500,000. The project was
advertised and bids opened May 8, 2012. There were seven (7) bidders as follows:
Staff Report — Award Contract
May 15, 2012
Page 5
All American Asphalt
$ 968,000.00
Sully - Miller Contracting Co.
$1,095,535.00
Chaparral Construction
$1,098,601.12
Martinez Concrete, Inc.
$1,177,827.59
Gentry Brothers Inc.
$1,186,509.50
Los Angeles Engineering Inc.
$1,250,252.50
Palp, Inc., dba Excel Paving Co.
$1,314,834.00
The low bidder was All American Asphalt in the amount of $968,000. All American
Asphalt's background has been investigated and it has been found that they have the
required license and have successfully completed similar projects in the past. A 10%
contingency is requested for additional funding authority when evaluating potential
needs or changes.
It is anticipated that work will begin by mid -June 2012 and will be completed by
September 21, 2012.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), an initial study (IS)
and a mitigated negative declaration (MND) were prepared. As part of the IS, the
County asked the City to obtain a Cultural Resources Assessment of the proposed land
acquisition because of their concern that the City's action could jeopardize the park's
status as a Cultural Landmark. An environmental firm was contracted to perform the
assessment and they determined that there is no impact to the park. The IS and MND
were noticed and made available for review for the 30 day period required under CEQA.
On January 3, 2012, the City Council adopted the MND.
FISCAL IMPACT
In Capital Improvement Programs for the 2009 -10 and 2010 -11 Fiscal Years, the City
Council approved a total project budget of $2,800,000. The funds are from several
sources: $1,650,000 is from City funding which includes $600,000 from Redevelopment
funds, $500,000 from Traffic Impact Fees and $550,000 from Proposition "C" funds.
The remaining $1,150,000 is a grant from Metro. With this grant the City is responsible
for 60% and Metro 40% of the total costs. With the construction bid, the actual total
project costs are projected as follows:
Staff Report — Award Contract
May 15, 2012
Page 6
Design $300,000
Acquisition Services $10,000
Land Cost $20,000
Inspection $30,000
Administration $20,000
Materials Testing $35,000
Construction Contract $968,000
10% Contingency $97,000
TOTAL PROJECTED COSTS $1,480,000
With the termination of the Redevelopment Agency, the redevelopment funding is no
longer available. Even without the redevelopment funding, there are sufficient funds
from other sources to fund the City's 60% share of the project ($888,000). The grant
from Metro will be reduced from the originally approved amount, but will still cover 40%
of the project costs ($592,000).
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council authorize the City Manager to enter into a
contract with All American Asphalt in the amount of $968,000 for the Huntington Drive
Capacity Improvements Project and approve a 10% contingency.
Approved by:
JK:PAW:TK:pa
iriT6 Lazza re
ity Manager
Attachments: Exhibit 1 — Project Location Map
Exhibit 2 — Robert Dahms Email
MISINEEESM
4,.e0i ^•.�k, .
R.pr
I _fi J
s
4 I
HUNTINGTON DRIVE CAPACITY
IMPROVEMENTS
1
ENGINEER:
CONSTRUCTION START DATE:
SCALE: NTS
NIA
Philip Wra
From:
Sent:
To:
Cc:
Subject:
y
EXHIBIT 2
Bobby B|uehouse<bobondmaria@obog|oboinet>
VVedneoday, May 02, 2012 1:10 PM
Philip Wray
aootthmMrick@ornadiaobeaLoom;000tt@aroadieoaohamberorg;yWarumitm;TimKeUeher;
Jason Kruckeberg
Re: Upcoming Street Project at Huntington Drive and Santa Anita Avenue
Correcton in Red Should read East
Yours in the blues,
Have Kites Will Travel
Bobby
626 560-7404
bobandmariu@abug|obe|.net
From: Bobby Bluehouse <bobandmaria@sbcglobairet>
To: " .arcodiasa.uo"< .orcadia.co.un>
Cc:^oon#he#rick@aroadianboo.00m"<000tthetthok@uncadiaobeot.00m>;^uuo8@aroadiaoaohmmbor.org"
<srott@arcadiooaohamberVrg>; kAorumitm«marumitm@sbcg|oboinot>;"tkeUehar@oiaroudia.ouus"
<tkeUeher@oi.avcadia.na.ua>;JaoonKruokeberg<jkruokeberO@ciaroadia.nauo>
Sent: Wednesday, May 2, 2012 10:56 AM
Subject: Upcoming Street Project at Huntington Drive and Santa Anita Avenue
PhiIip A. Wray
Deputy Director of Development Services/ City Engineer
City ofArcadia
5/2/2012
Robert Dahms
P.O. Box 3178
Dana Point, Ca. 92629
626 560-7404
RE: Upcoming Street Project at Huntington Drive and Santa Anita Avenue
Dear Mr. Wray,
We received the notice dated April 18th ,2012frorn1heChvforvvorktobedoneinourb|ockof
Huntington and Santa Anita. We have concerns about the South Side Alley on Huntington and closing
its ability to cross the street and turn southbound from the Alley onto Santa Anita Blvd. | placed a few
calls and eventually was able to speak to your Assistant Engineer Time Kelleher. I also left a message
for you. | let him know we had concerns but he told me essentially it was a done deal and there was
nntrnuchthatcou|dbedonebecausethe[ityEngineervvhoisa"prnfessiona|"thouBhtitneededto
be done for safety and traffic efficiency reasons. Tim also let me know the public would not have input
to this process as these type of issues do not normally involve a public hearing. It almost implied to me
that the last City Engineer who designed it in the first place was not professional, but that design sure
works well for us, especially if people obey the signage and the landscaping is trimmed down not to
block visibility. Good |
block and now you are about to take some of that way without any input by the property owners.
After reading our concerns | hope you can re-design something even more professional that works for
both you and the business community along with the residents that use the Huntington Drive alley in
the 100 Block and support our businesses in Downtown Arcadia. We want to continue to be able to
pffdent|ydrive South fn)rnthis aUeyas there is already qubeabhoftrafDc and even rnoneisonthe
� vvay.ConstructionfnrnevvcondVsarebeingbui|tfronoA|taxvhichvviUfacefnzntingthisaUeyandthe
Downtown is being redeveloped. This is a very busy alley. I wish you would have sought some public
input as the importance of our ability to turn left going south from our alley onto Santa Anita which is
typically done when there is a red light north south on Santa Anita and adequate signage to not block
the alley. We feel it is already safe although there are occasional unsafe drivers in Arcadia at almost
every intersection. { hope this is not an overreaction to that. The only time | have seen any other
problem is when the landscaping has grown higher than the cars' window thus biocking visibility.
Currently the landscaping has been trimmed and I believe it is safe if people follow safe driving
practices. If there are other concerns of Safety please let us know.
On the other hand there really is a HUGE problem in that block that has not been addressed by your
department that we can see every day especially 15t, 15 m ,Friand5at.
Briefly: When traveling EAST down the same alley on the south side of Huntington and entering First
Street there is a dangerous intersection there. Any car that is in on the correct/right side of the
road/alley entering First Street is now blinded by the building at the sidewalk because there is NO side
yard setback from the AIley to the sidewaik because the 20 foot tall buliding is built up to the alley and
sidewalk. | have actually seen people slamming on their brakes, had people walk into cars because
they do not expect a car there with no time to react and numerous times seen near misses from cars
leaving the alley to First Street that managed not to hit a pedestrian. As Downtown Arcadia get more
redeveloped and pedestrian traffic increase the odds are not good for pedestrian crossing this blind
alley. I stopped using that intersection going it that direction and am personally treating the alley as a
one way alley going West Bound because leaving the alley to First Street is so dangerous. I want to
avoid problems. This is because the only other way to avoid hitting a pedestrian and gain visibility is to
risk driving into oncoming traffic the center of the alley. The difficulty with that is when a car is going
the opposite direction West Bound to the Bank or another business in that block from First Street.
They become very unhappy when you block their side of the road/alley. At times this intersection of
the alley and first gets very busy.
So hopefully now you will reconsider the current closure you have planned. Closing the other end of
the same biock at Santa Anita going Southbound could be a mistake because there is no way safely to
go south bound from the other end of this Block other than Santa Anita or driving through someone's
private property. | understand you are going to make the same type of changes on the alley on the
North Side of Huntington. There it might make more sense as there are multiple exits from the
parking lot that will allow safe travel south bound from the parking lot even if you block the Alley on
the North side to go south bound. On our alley we do not have those same choices because parking is
very limited.
| have extensive pictures of each intersection on the Alley on the south side of Huntington to make it
easier to visualize for you but am unable to forward them to you until this coming Friday. Please call
me if you have questions or you would like to visit onsite at the intersections in question. Thank you.
2
My wife, Maria also wanted to remind the City, we need better crosswalk visibility and signage on the
cross walk mid-block on Huntington to allow pedestrians to access North/South for the parking lot
North of Huntington. She also mentioned some street Iights there are broken or intermittent and go
on and off in 5 minute intervals, Thanks again.
Very Truly Yours,
Robert Dahms
Property and Business Owner on Huntington, Diamond, and Alice Streets.
Cc: Tim Kelleher 626 574-5484
Arcadia Chamber of Commerce, Arcadias Best, Scott Hettrick scottParc
Maria K4o/ak' in!?i
Jason Kruckeberg, Assistant City Manager/ Development Services Director,
3
„st,coyp�