Report on project and Change Orders 1, 2, 5, 6, 8 and 9 for Capital Improvement Project 10884; Kern Bridge.

No action, informational only.

In accordance with Section 2-8 of the Mankato City Code, the City Manager is to report as soon as practicable on change orders approved under $100,000. The following is a summary of change orders to date for 10884; Kern Bridge Project.
 
Construction is ongoing on Kern Bridge and at the time of this report, all tree clearing and mass grading efforts have been started. In concurrence with this effort, Xcel Energy has completed the conduit installation and underground conversion of the overhead electrical wires that were in conflict. The contractor has started shaping and placing rip rap on the Land of Memories side of the west bank of the Blue Earth River. The contractor has closed Sibley Parkway and removal of the existing blacktop and curb and gutter is ongoing. Access to CHS Pergola Way remains accessible from the south for required deliveries to the Water Treatment Plant. The contractor is currently constructing the cofferdams for the two piers located within the Blue Earth River. The contractor’s primary focus over the next month is to complete the installation of the drilled piles and start construction of the new bridge piers. Also, ongoing at an offsite location is the cleaning, fabricating new hardware, and reassembling of the historic bridge structure.
 
Based on the current construction progress, six change orders have been executed with a summary of each as follows:  
Change Order 1
During construction, the contractor was directed to complete additional tree removals on the Sibley Park side of the project. The additional work was required to accommodate and provide a better corridor for the trail connection from the new Kern Bridge to the existing Minnesota River Trail within Sibley Park.
 
Change Order 2
To comply with the new federal law regarding DBE requirements, a change order was required to incorporate the new special provisions and replace the original DBE special provisions as bid. The change order resulted in an elimination of the DBE numeric goal “zero out” in order to achieve a DBE Neutral project.
 
Change Order 5
The Engineer has determined that the price bid for the conduit system for future fiberoptic city communications exceeds the applicable value for installation of this project. As a result, the Engineer, in coordination with staff, has decided to eliminate the conduit system proposed to be installed across the bridge and all ancillary supporting infrastructure. It is important to note that the city has vetted an alternate option for installation of the conduit system as required in the future and the plan is to bore under the river similar to the city-owned watermain. The advantages of this option are that estimates received from contractors indicate a significant cost savings and the conduit could be installed along a more direct route connecting existing fiberoptic locations.
 
Change Order 6
The Engineer has determined that pavement section reductions are possible to better align with the existing roadway sections being connected into both the Land of Memories and Sibley Park sides of the project. The recommended changes consist of the elimination of the sand layer, an increase in the aggregate base layer and elimination of the roadway subsurface underdrains that do not currently exist elsewhere.
 
Change Order 8
During construction and due to varying site conditions on the project, the Engineer has determined that additional erosion control items are required to control erosion. The additional erosion control items, while not specifically included in the plan, are in accordance with a schedule of pre-determined prices within the contract special provisions. The Engineer has directed the additional erosion control work consisting of temporary rapid stabilization and poly covering in order to adequately protect the work area and maintain compliance with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Construction Stormwater Permit.  
Change Order 9
The Engineer has determined the contract needs to be revised based on contractor input and further review of the geotechnical information. The Engineer has determined that Pile Tip Protection shall be added to the piles for the two retaining walls A and B based on similar geotechnical conditions as the pedestrian bridge. Additionally, the Engineer has requested the elimination of the Pile Analysis based on diminished value resulting from the known bedrock condition for the H-piles.
 
The total of all change orders to date consisting of numbers 1, 2, 5, 6, 8 and 9 is a contract reduction “negative” of $196,786.00. The project is currently tracking an additional six (6) change orders for a current total of 12 with projected total contract savings of over $70,000. All future change orders will be brought before city council as soon as practicable in accordance with the City Code.