That the City Council:
A. Approve Plans and Specifications for Lambert Road Corridor Regional Traffic Signal Synchronization Project, City Project No. 7-TC-20; and

B. Award a construction contract for the Lambert Road Corridor Regional Traffic Signal Synchronization Project to Elecnor Belco Electric, Inc. of Chino, California in the amount of $1,442,693 and reject all other bids; and 

C. Authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with Elecnor Belco Electric, Inc. in the amount of $1,442,693 and authorize staff to issue a purchase order to Elecnor Belco Electric, Inc. in the amount of $1,731,232, which includes a twenty percent (20%) contingency. 

D. Authorize an additional appropriation of available Gax Tax funds in the amount of $77,475 to fully fund the project.  

In an effort to streamline traffic flow through the La Habra community, staff applied for competitive funding through the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) Combined Transportation Funding Programs under the Project P Regional Traffic Signal Synchronization Program (RTSSP) and received funding approval to design, construct, and for two years of post-construction maintenance for the Lambert Road Corridor Regional Traffic Signal Synchronization Project ("Project").  The Project will synchronize traffic signals along Lambert Road from Martinez Drive in the City of La Habra to Valencia Avenue in the City of Brea. The approximate 7.4 mile-long Project will improve twenty-five (25) traffic signals in the cities of La Habra and Brea. Along this route there are four traffic signals controlled by Caltrans, thirteen (13) traffic signals controlled by the City of Brea, and eight traffic signals controlled by the City of La Habra. The City of La Habra is the lead agency for this Project and cooperative agreements with Caltrans and City of Brea are in place to perform work within their jurisdictions.

On February 16, 2021, the City Council approved a design agreement with AGA Engineers Inc. to provide professional engineering services for the Lambert Road Corridor Regional Traffic Signal Synchronization Project.

On Thursday, September 4, 2025, at 3:00 p.m., the City received nine (9) bids with the following results:
 

The base bid includes the installation of various traffic signal infrastructure equipment along the corridor that supports communication, signal system coordination, including but not limited to controllers, video detection systems, fiber optic cabling, fiber switches, CCTV camera systems, and traffic signal cabinets. The alternative bid items are additional items that also support the coordinated signal network, including a bike indicator system. The lowest apparent bid will be awarded based on the lowest base bid. 

Staff thoroughly reviewed each bid and found several mathematical and computational errors within their bids. Staff corrected the bid amounts according to the guidelines set forth in the Project specifications. The adjusted bid numbers are reflected in the bid summary table above. It should be noted that Elecnor Belco Electric, Inc. ("Belco") had the lowest apparent base bid during the bid opening. Belco remained the lowest apparent bidder even after all bids were corrected. Additionally, Belco's references were found to be satisfactory and they have completed similar projects in other cities, including the City of Fullerton, Glendale, Hawthorne, Newport Beach, and Pasadena. Furthermore, within the City of La Habra, Belco satisfactorily performed traffic signal modifications to the Harbor Boulevard/Arbolita Drive intersection. They are currently the prime contractor on the Harbor Boulevard RTSSP project which is a joint project between La Habra and Fullerton - a project that is being led by the City of Fullerton.  Lastly, there was no record of excessive change order requests from this contractor, and they maintain a valid Contractor's License. 

After the bid opening, staff consulted with the City of Brea regarding the received bids. The City of Brea elected not to proceed with adding the alternative bid items to their traffic signals. However, staff recommends including the alternative bid items for the City of La Habra which include one intersection video detection system and one smart cycle bike indicator system which is equipment that will further support the coordinated signal system. Therefore, staff recommends awarding a construction contract to Belco for the base bid amount for both cities and adding the alternative bid items for La Habra for a project total of $1,731,232, which includes a twenty percent (20%) contingency. 
 

City of La Habra
Base Bid	$             617,184.00
Alternative Bid	$                49,192.00
Subtotal	$             666,376.00
20% Contingency	$             133,275.20
Total	$             799,651.20
City of Brea
Base Bid	$             776,317.00
20% Contingency	$             155,263.40
Total	$             931,580.40
Grand Total	$          1,731,231.60

The City approved a total project budget of $2,341,267 in FY 2022-2023 which comprises 80% OCTA Grant Funds and 20% matching Gas Tax City funds. The project is also included in the FY 2025-2026 budget, which was approved by City Council in June 2025.  The total project budget is for design, construction management, inspection, construction, and post-construction maintenance.  Furthermore, per the cooperative agreements executed January 16, 2024, the City of La Habra and Brea are responsible for each agency's fair share cost of the project in each of their respective jurisdictions.  The total project budget including design, construction, contingency, construction management and all other associated costs amount to a total project budget of $2,418,742. Therefore, staff recommends City Council appropriate $77,475 in available Gas Tax funds to the project to fully fund the construction contingencies. Any funds not used at the end of the project will be returned and used for other or future CIP projects.