Consider Recommending City Council Approving Plans and Specifications and Authorizing Advertisement for Bids for Barthel’s Rum River Acres and White Pines Estates Street Reconstructions, Improvement Project #24-01

Purpose:
The purpose of this case is to consider recommending City Council approving plans and specifications and authorizing advertisement for bids for Barthel’s Rum River Acres and White Pines Estates Street Reconstructions, Improvement Project #24-01.
 
Background:
City Improvement Project #24-01 proposes to reconstruct the streets within the Barthel’s Rum River Acres and White Pines Estates subdivisions, generally located between 164^th Lane and 165^th Lane, adjacent to the Rum River. The 2023 – 2032 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) identifies the streets within these subdivisions for street reconstruction in 2024. Street segment summaries are attached to this case.
 
Existing Conditions
The streets vary between 24 feet wide rural section and 31 feet wide urban section including bituminous curbing, totaling 1.33 miles in length. Traffic counts have not been taken, but Staff anticipates typical neighborhood traffic due to the location of the subdivision and lack of destinations which would increase traffic above normal.
 
Municipal sewer and water do not exist in the project area, and utility extensions to the area are not proposed. The existing drainage is through a combination of swales adjacent to the roadway, and on street drainage to curb cuts in the bituminous curbing area, as well as street crossing culverts. Additionally, Staff is aware of Northern Natural gas mainlines crossing in one location at 164^th Lane, approximately 600 feet east of Trunk Highway 47.
 
Project History

• 2023 – 2032 Capital Improvement Program – listed as street reconstruction for 2024.
• June 13, 2023, Resolution #23-130 the Ramsey City Council accepted proposals for topographic survey of the project area.
• June 27, 2023, Resolution #23-129 the Ramsey City Council accepted proposals for geotechnical report of the project area.
• August 22, 2023, Resolution #23-197 the Ramsey City Council ordered Staff to prepare plans and specifications.
• October 10, 2023, Resolution #23-250 the Ramsey City Council accepted proposal for sewer cleaning and televising.

 
Pavement History
The streets within the Barthel’s Rum River Acres subdivision were built in 1982. The streets received an overlay improvement in 1997, the only other pavement maintenance was a crack seal / seal coat improvement in 2009. Maintenance crews have performed patching over the last several years, included extensive patching in 2023.
 
The streets within the White Pines Estates subdivision were built in 1977. Pavement maintenance has included initial crack seal / seal coat improvements in 1984 and 1992. An overlay was performed in 2001, and the only pavement maintenance project since was a crack seal / seal coat improvement in 2009. Maintenance crews have performed patching as needed over the last several years.
 
Proposed Improvements
Staff review of the geotechnical report found generally sandy subsoil make up the roadway embankment throughout the project area. There are areas of silt and highly plastic clay below the roadway embankment zone. These would only impact the project if excavation goes deeper than 3 to 4 feet, generally for storm sewer installation. Where these soils are found during pipe installation, the plans call for subsoil corrections in the immediate areas, and have quantities built into the plans to accommodate such a circumstance.
 
In general, the current swales along the street within the Barthel’s Rum River Acres subdivision are not proposed to be re-graded as part of this project. Due to the nature of street reconstruction, the in-slopes will likely be disturbed approximately 3 to 5 feet off of the edge of pavement. No changes to the current drainage pattern are proposed. The existing culverts crossing the streets are proposed to be removed and replaced, this is to ensure the culverts will last at least through the proposed 60-year design life of the street.
 
The bituminous curbing within the White Pines Estates subdivision is proposed to be replaced with surmountable concrete curb and gutter. At driveways, a curb cut similar to what is typically placed in B-Style curb will be placed, to avoid a high transition from the roadway to driveways. Additionally, concrete storm sewer inlets and piping will be added to better drain the urban section streets. As discussed previously, Staff is anticipating some subsoil corrections will be necessary as part of the storm sewer construction. This will consist of removing the poor soils and replacing with select granular sand, which is proper pipe bedding material.
 
Restoration of the impacted boulevard areas will include a minimum of 4-inches topsoil and hydroseed with a residential turf seed mix. Though the pavement is generally going back to the same location and elevation, driveway aprons will be replaced to match into the new bituminous pavement as minor changes will occur. In general, driveway aprons will be going back 8 feet to tie the driveways into the new pavement.
 
The majority of stormwater within these subdivisions drain to a ditch located on 16512 Germanium Street. Existing there is a large bump in the road at the culvert crossing location to this outlet, because of the lack of clearance above the pipe. This project proposes raising Germanium Street approximately 1-foot to allow clearance over the new crossing pipe. This will require the driveway at 16512 to be replaced further back, and additional grading to match into the new roadway, however, work is still anticipated to be contained within the right-of-way.
 
Special Concrete Driveway
During the project open house held on November 2, 2023, Staff was made aware of two special concrete aprons. Initial review shows the driveways having colored concrete, and a stamped design. Previous practice on reconstruction projects is to replace the materials and patterns to match existing as best as practical. This is achieved by having a special concrete driveway pay item, and special provision in the specifications. It has required that City Staff coordinate with the Contractor and Property Owner to go over the special concrete, and potentially have the property owner present during the concrete pouring. In the past, this has been difficult to achieve, and has required removal and replacement of concrete several times to meet home owners’ expectations. Staff would like to discuss the following options moving forward with special concrete driveway replacements:

• Continue to replace back concrete driveways to match existing as best as practical
• Replace back special concrete driveways with standard concrete, within the right-of-way
• Consider offering a budget to the home owner to cover the cost of standard concrete, with the home owner paying any cost over and above (potentially a separate contract to complete the work)

 
Preliminary Schedule Remaining

• Council Approves Plans and Specifications / Authorizes Ad for Bids
  • November 28, 2023 or
  • December 12, 2023
• Staff Receives Bids
  • February 21, 2024
• Council Awards Contract to the Lowest Responsible Bidder
  • February 27, 2024
• Contractor Begins Construction
  • Spring 2024
• Contractor Substantially Completes Construction
  • New bituminous pavement in-place, topsoil and seed in-place
  • August 2, 2024
• Contractor Final Completion
  • Verify final restoration; punch list created
  • August 30, 2024

 
Final plans are not attached to this case to prevent potential bidders from downloading plans attached to the case to prepare and submit their bids, rather than purchasing the plans through QuestCDN, the electronic bidding software used by the City of Ramsey. This ensures all bidders are bidding off the same set of plans, and all bidders are notified of any plan revisions (addenda) issued during the bidding process. Attached is the title sheet showing the scope of the improvements, as well as a plan sheet showing the typical sections, which includes information on the proposed pavement section. Plans are available upon request from the City Engineer.

Notification is not required for this case.

Timeframe:
Staff estimates up to 20 minutes will be needed to present this case and respond to questions.
 
Observations:
Discussion of driveway apron replacements may affect the final design and project estimated costs.
 
Alternatives:
Alternative #1 – Motion recommending City Council approving plans and specifications and authorizing advertisement for bids for Barthel’s Rum River Acres and White Pines Estates Street Reconstructions, Improvement Project #24-01.
 
Alternative #2 – Motion of other.

Funding for this improvement is proposed to come from Pavement Management Funds and Stormwater Utility Funds.
 
Staff has completed an estimate based on final plans and anticipated 2024 construction costs, with a total estimated project cost of $1,505,111, which includes 23-percent indirect costs for administrative, engineering, finance, and legal costs.
 

• Street Project Costs                $1,260,224
• Storm Sewer Project Costs     $244,887
• Total Estimated Costs             $1,505,111

Staff recommends Alternative #1.

Action:
Motion recommending City Council approving plans and specifications and authorizing advertisement for bids for Barthel’s Rum River Acres and White Pines Estates Street Reconstructions, Improvement Project #24-01.