06 - Laserfiche WebLink

BACKGROUND The Engineering Division of the Community Development Department performs engineering studies and design for City capital improvements projects either through in- house staff or through contracts with outside consulting firms. This project was selected as a candidate for consultant services due to its complexity and the need for additional engineering support to meet the project's schedule. Consistent with the Capital Improvement Program and the Circulation Element of the General Plan Update, the Santa Rita Road and Valley Avenue Widening project has been activated. The project generally consists of extending the right turn pocket for westbound to northbound traffic on Valley Avenue, and relocating the median curb adjacent to the left turn pocket on Valley Avenue east of Santa Rita Road to provide for a second westbound to southbound left turn lane (see Attachment 3) . In addition, relocation of the southerly curb on Valley Avenue, and modification of the traffic signal based upon the new lane configuration, will be evaluated during the redesign of the intersection. The project does not include a triple left turn lane from southbound Santa Rita Road to eastbound Valley Avenue. This project will provide added vehicle capacity and storage for the westbound left turn movement. The westbound left turn vehicles routinely back up out of the left turn pocket during peak hours, which causes increased delay for the westbound through movement and reduces the level of safety at the intersection. The added storage capacity of a second left turn lane moves the left turn vehicles out of the through lane. This will improve the delay for the through movement, as well as improve safety. In addition to the operational improvement and safety enhancement for the westbound direction, the added left turn lane will allow the operation of the traffic signal to service the same number of westbound left turn vehicles in a shorter amount of time. This will allow additional time to be given to more congested directions of travel which will improve the overall level of service for the intersection. DISCUSSION The original consultant fee for this project was $111,684 and was awarded by the City Council to Kimley-Horn and Associates on March 4, 2008. The additional engineering services will consist of additional surveying and design work necessary for completion of the construction documents. During the preliminary design phase, the scope of work was modified at the intersection of Santa Rita and Valley Avenue to include replacement of the entire traffic control system, mast arms, traffic cabinet and pedestrian pork chop islands. Therefore, to accommodate these additional design needs into the project, an additional scope of work was obtained from Kimley-Horn (Attachment 4). The consultant has proposed to include these modifications to the improvement plans for an additional fee Page 2 of 3