On December 6, 2022, Council passed Resolution 22-R-138 authorizing a not-to-exceed amount of $330,000 for a Task Order with Halff Associates for the design of the Lookout Road Reconstruction project.  During the course of the project design, it was identified that some widening was needed at the Schertz Parkway and Lookout Road and Doerr Lane and Lookout Road intersections in order to accommodate left-turn lanes for trucks.  Additionally, some widening at the Schertz Parkway and Lookout Road intersection is needed in order to maintain the eastbound right turn lane.  Having the left turn lanes and maintaining the eastbound right turn lane at the Schertz Parkway and Lookout Road intersection will allow both intersections to function more efficiently and help reduce the long traffic backups that currently occur during peak travel times.

As the design of the needed widening was finalized, some additional right-of-way needs were identified at both intersections.  The original Task Order for the project did not include right-of-way acquisition services and the cost to provide those services would exceed the originally approved not to exceed amount for the Task Order.  As a result, a Task Order Amendment is needed in order to add most of the cost of the right-of-way acquisition services to the Task Order for the project.  This project, both design and construction, is funded by the Schertz Economic Development Corporation (EDC).  EDC previously authorized a not-to-exceed amount of $770,000 for the project design.  To date, $436,238.29 has been transferred from EDC to the City of Schertz for the project design, leaving an available balance of $333,761.71 for the project design.  The available amount is more than sufficient to cover the $60,320 needed for the right-of-way acquisition service.

Staff recommends amending the Task Order with Halff Associates to add the right-of-way acquisition services and increase the not-to-exceed amount of the Task Order to $390,000.  By having Halff Associates perform the right-of-way acquisition services, we will ensure that all applicable State and Federal rules for right-of-way acquisitions will be followed.

Acquiring additional right-of-way at the Schertz Parkway and Lookout Road and Doerr Lane and Lookout Road intersections will provide additional street width needed to accommodate turn lanes for larger vehicles.  While there is currently enough pavement width at both intersections for typical personal vehicles, this area has a lot of truck traffic due to the industrial nature of the area.  If the Schertz Parkway and Lookout Road intersection is not widened, then a left turn lane could not be provided on Schertz Parkway and the existing eastbound right turn lane on Lookout Road (from Selma) would need to be eliminated.  This would decrease the efficiency of this intersection, causing traffic to back up more than it currently does during peak-hour times.  Providing the left turn lane and maintaining the existing right turn lane, will improve the efficiency of the intersection and help reduce traffic backups.  Similarly, at the Doerr lane intersection, providing a left turn lane that can accommodate large vehicles (trucks) will also improve the intersection efficiency.  Increasing this intersection's efficiency will also help mitigate the additional traffic expected from the current and future development of the Royal Manufacturing Subdivision (both sides of Tejas Way).

In October of 2022, the EDC authorized up to $770,000 for the design of the Lookout Road Reconstruction project.  Previous EDC Board and Council Actions have allocated $436,238.29 for the design of this project, leaving $333,761.71 available for additional project design needs.  The expected cost of the Task Order Amendment to add Right-of-Way acquisition services to the design effort is $60,320 but the not to exceed amount only needs to be increased by $60,000.00 as the $320.00 can be covered under the current task order maximum.  This amount is well below the available funding for this project design.  Approving the proposed Task Order Amendment will still leave $273,761.71 (a $60,000.00 reduction) available for other design needs if needed.  EDC has indicated their approval of the proposed Task Order Amendment, based on the project need and the available funding.

Approve Resolution 25-R-035