Consideration of adopting Resolution #14-05-081 accepting quotes and awarding contract for Alpine Drive Quiet Zone Improvements.

Purpose
The purpose of this case is to accept quotes and award a contract for Improvement Project 14-21, Alpine Drive Quiet Zone Improvements, allowing construction to be completed before June 20^th, the date the current agreement between the railroad and the City expires.  Staff is also requesting Council authorization to submit the necessary notices to allow for establishment of a quiet zone at the Alpine Drive railroad crossing.

Background
The proposed quiet zone improvements will expand upon the Alpine Drive quiet zone improvements constructed in 2010.  The 2010 project included the construction of approximately 100-feet of 6-inch tall raised concrete median islands along the centerline of Alpine Drive on both sides of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad crossing.  Median islands are a requirement of the Federal Railroad Administration to prevent drivers from crossing over to the opposing lane to drive around the ends of the railroad warning gate arms in quiet zones.  However, upon completion of the 2010 improvements, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) never inspected the improvements to determine if the City could apply for a quiet zone exemption for this railroad crossing.
 
In the spring of 2013, staff contacted the FRA to request an inspection of the 2010 improvements so the City could begin the required process of requesting that a quiet zone be implemented at the Alpine Drive railroad crossing.  On July 16, 2013, the Regional Crossing Manager with the FRA performed a field evaluation of the 2010 improvements (after reviewing the FRA’s Grade Crossing inventory report and performing a preliminary quiet zone risk assessment for this crossing).  Staff was informed that the evaluation showed that the risk without any type of safety measure is not acceptable so a non-traversable median is required to ensure the crossing is compliant with the Train Horn Rule (per 49 CFR Part 222).  This rule specifies that a non-traversable raised median must be at least 100 feet in length on both sides of the grade crossing and 6 inches in height beginning at the lowered gate arms to permit a quiet zone to be established. Based on the FRA’s inspection, the raised median on the west side of the crossing measured 82 feet, and on the east side the median measured 100 feet.  They also found that both median nose ends are less than 6 inches high at the location of the gate arms.  Therefore, the City will be required to modify both raised medians in order to implement a quiet zone at this crossing.
 
In the summer of 2013, City staff inspected the 2010 improvements to verify the FRA’s findings.  Staff determined that approximately 20 feet of 6 inch tall raised median island needs to be added to the median islands, and that all 4 median noses need to be removed and replaced to meet the current quiet zone requirements.  Staff then prepared the necessary plans and special provisions, which are attached to this case. Staff also applied for the required BNSF railroad agreement to allow construction to occur in the spring of 2014.  The BNSF railroad agreement was approved on December 20, 2013 and is valid for 180 days so all work must be completed by June 20, 2014.  It should be noted that staff plans to extend the median island an additional couple of feet on each side of the crossing to ensure the new improvements pass FRA inspections.
 
In April, quotes were requested from three contractors capable of completing the work.  Quotes were received from the contractors on April 25, 2014, and the quotes were checked for errors and omissions of which none were found.  Below is a tabulation of the quotes.
 

CONTRACTOR	QUOTE
Landmark Concrete, Inc.	$  4,500.00
Reshetar Systems	$16,490.00
Ron Kassa Construction, Inc.	$  6,500.00

 
Once the new improvements are complete, the FRA must again inspect the improvements to ensure they comply with the Train Horn Rule.  If the improvements pass FRA inspections, the City can then submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) which requires a 60-day comment period following reviews by BNSF, Amtrak, MnDOT, FRA, and other “interested partners”.  While this review is underway, the FRA needs to verify that the crossing is equipped with the required constant warning time (the FRA has informed staff that their inventory indicates constant warning time has been installed at this crossing).  Then, if all partners agree that the supplemental (median) safety improvements are acceptable, and if the crossing is equipped with constant warning time, a Notice of Establishment can be submitted which requires a 21-day notice prior to establishing the new quiet zone to cease the use of locomotive horns.  Therefore, the earliest a quiet zone can be implemented at this railroad crossing will be early September of 2014.
 
Based on previous correspondence with BNSF, staff was informed this crossing exceeds their minimum required crossing spacing of 0.25 mile as the nearest railroad crossings are at Jarvis Street (2,600 feet west of Alpine) and Armstrong Blvd/CSAH 83 (5,600 feet east of Alpine). Attached is legislation titled 49 CFR Parts 222 and 229, Use of Locomotive Horns at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings; Final Rule which discusses all the requirements for implementing quiet zones.

No notifications are required with this case.

Observations:
Staff has received numerous calls over the years from residents requesting a quiet zone at the Alpine Drive railroad crossing.  In light of these calls, and considering that a previous quiet zone improvement project was ordered in 2010, staff continued to work towards establishing a quiet zone at the Alpine Drive crossing.  Lastly, once the Armstrong Interchange is constructed the entire City would be a quiet zone if the Alpine Drive crossing is established as a quiet zone.

Alternatives:
Alternative Action #1 - Motion to adopt Resolution 14-05-081 accepting quotes and awarding a contract to Landmark Concrete in the amount of $4,500 to construct the Alpine Drive Quiet Zone improvements, and authorizing staff to pay BNSF for the required insurance and flagging personnel to construct the improvements and to submit the required notices for establishing a quiet zone at the Alpine Drive railroad crossing once work is complete.

Alternative Action #2 - Motion denying adoption of Resolution 14-05-081 at this time.

The required funding for these improvements would be taken from the Public Improvement Revolving (PIR) Fund.  This includes all costs associated with completing the improvements, including constructing the raised median improvements as well as all costs incurred for carrying the additional required insurance and scheduling a railroad flagger to be on site during all work activities within railroad right-of-way.  Since the proposed work is estimated to be completed in 1 or 2 days, the total cost of the project is not expected to exceed $15,000.

City staff recommends adopting Resolution 14-05-081 Accepting Quotes and Authorizing Award of Contract for IP 14-21; Alpine Drive Quiet Zone Improvements.

Council is requested to adopt Resolution 14-05-081 accepting quotes and awarding a contract to Landmark Concrete in the amount of $4,500 to construct the Alpine Drive Quiet Zone improvements, and authorizing staff to pay BNSF for the required insurance and flagging personnel to construct the improvements and to submit the required notices for establishing a quiet zone at the Alpine Drive railroad crossing once work is complete.