Title
Report regarding the award of a Consulting Services Agreement to Biggs Cardosa Associates, Inc. for the Grand Avenue Bridges Project. (Lawrence Henriquez, Senior Civil Engineer)
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council adopt a resolution awarding a Consulting Services Agreement to Biggs Cardosa Associates, Inc. of San Jose, California for preliminary engineering, environmental, and design services (Plans, Specifications, and Estimate (PS&E)) for the Grand Avenue Bridges Project (st1804) in an amount not to exceed $701,254.00; and approve Budget Amendment Number 25.030 to remove $148,000 in Citywide Traffic Impact Fees from the project budget; and authorize the City Manager to execute the Consulting Services Agreement.
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BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
The City of South San Francisco (“City”) has an ongoing Bridge Preventive Maintenance Program (BPMP) for the fourteen (14) vehicle bridges that are under the Caltrans Bridge Inspection Program. The BPMP was created to help local agencies extend the life of their bridges by performing certain activities that have been pre-approved by the Federal Highway Administration.
The Bridge Preventive Maintenance Program Goals are to:
1. Maintain the existing inventory of bridges in a structurally safe and serviceable condition.
2. Correct minor structural deficiencies early in a bridge's life, rather than wait until a bridge has major problems requiring costly rehabilitation, reconstruction, or replacement.
3. Extend the service lives of existing bridges.
4. Make efficient use of limited resources.
Caltrans inspects the bridges every two years and submits its findings to the City through a Bridge Inspection Report. City staff determines the appropriate actions based upon the reports and Caltrans work recommendations.
The Grand Avenue Bridges were built in 1984 and were constructed to span over the Caltrain and Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) rail corridor, and Poletti Way. Both bridges have superstructures consisting of steel box girders with a composite concrete deck. The bridges carry two 22-foot lanes of traffic and a 6-foot pedestrian walkway with a concrete barrier railing on each side of the traffic lanes. A chain-link railing separates the pedestrian walkway from vehicular traffic. Both bridges require preventive maintenance due to deterioration of the bridge concrete decks, joint seals, barrier railings, and will require repainting of the existing steel box girders as recommended in the Caltrans Bridge Inspection Records Information System (BIRIS) reports; the BIRIS report indicated light to moderate rust is present on the exposed steel surfaces, with the paint system exhibiting distresses throughout, and there are areas of peeling, fading, and chalking throughout the superstructure. Since preventive maintenance work will occur adjacent to and above railway tracks, encroachment permit agreements with the railway entities will be required. In addition, since the project is funded through the Highway Bridge Program’s (HBP) BPMP, environmental clearances will be required for the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) as well as the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
The City has already programmed the project through the Highway Bridge Program which was approved and funds accepted by City Council on April 10, 2024, through a Program Supplemental Agreement. The railway encroachment agreements will need to be coordinated and secured to obtain the right-of-way certification, environmental documents, along with the final design plans to Caltrans prior to submitting a Request for Authorization for construction funding request before proceeding into the construction phase of the project.
|
BRIDGE NO. |
DESCRIPTION |
NOTES |
|
#35C0148L |
Grand Avenue Bridge (westward direction) |
Design Phase starts January 2025 |
|
#35C0148R |
Grand Avenue Bridge (eastward direction) |
Design Phase starts January 2025 |
The design phase is expected to have a project duration of approximately two years with the objective of going into construction in 2027.
SCOPE OF WORK
The project will involve conducting and coordinating specified tasks such as project management, preliminary engineering studies, surveys, mapping, environmental studies documentation, utility coordination, design, construction phase authorization, and bid support. The design tasks are anticipated to be performed between the design contract Notice to Proceed date in January 2025, and the Ready to Advertise for Construction date in January 2027.
RFP PROCUREMENT
Staff issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) through the OpenGov website on August 2, 2024. To promote advertising, staff contacted various engineering firms from the City’s On-Call consultant list in addition to others. There were 26 firms that downloaded the advertised RFP. Proposals were due on September 6, 2023, with three (3) consulting firms submitting their propositions.
Three (3) consulting firms were invited for interviews that were scheduled for October 10, 2024. The interview panel consisted of three (3) Engineering staff members, comprised of senior engineers and a principal engineer.
The interview panelists scored the presentation in the following areas:
1. Knowledge and Understanding: Demonstrated understanding of the RFP objectives and work requirements. Identification of key issues. Knowledge, approach and understanding of the required services and scope of work.
2. Management Approach and Staffing Plan: Qualifications of project staff (particularly key personnel such as the project manager), key personnel’s level of involvement in performing related work and the team’s experience in maintaining schedule.
3. Qualifications of the Project Manager: Experience with similar projects and proven track record of success with an in-depth knowledge of Caltrans procedures.
4. Qualifications of the Proposer Firm: Experience with similar projects. Technical experience in performing work related to type of services; capabilities of developing innovative or advanced techniques; strength and stability of the firm; technical experience and strength and stability of proposed subconsultants; experience navigating through the Caltrans procedures; and demonstrated communications quality and success.
5. Effectiveness of Interview / Presentation: An understanding of key challenges of the project along with a planned approach to engineering of the overall project.
On average, the interview was scored by the panel members as follows:
|
|
Knowledge and Understanding (30 points) |
Management Approach and Staffing Plan (30 points) |
Qualifications of Project Manager (10 points) |
Qualifications of proposer firm and consultant team (15 points) |
Effectiveness of Interview (15 points) |
Average Score |
|
Biggs Cardosa |
26.7 |
28 |
9.3 |
13.3 |
13 |
90.3 |
|
Mark Thomas |
23.7 |
26.7 |
10 |
15 |
11.3 |
86.7 |
|
MNS |
20 |
25.3 |
10 |
11.3 |
13.3 |
79.9 |
The following is a summary of the negotiated consultant fee proposal:
|
Consultant |
Fee |
|
Biggs Cardosa Associates, Inc. |
$637,504 |
|
10% Contingency |
$63,750 |
|
TOTAL |
$701,254 |
Based on the knowledge and technical understanding of the project, staff recommend Biggs Cardosa Associates, Inc., to begin preparing the PS&E phase for the project. Additionally, Biggs Cardosa Associates, Inc. has a proven track record of successfully delivering projects for the City in the past.
Biggs Cardosa is a California corporation established in 1986 that has become one of the leading bridge engineering firms in the state. They specialize in BPMP and HBP-funded bridge projects, and have a wealth of experience in bridge inspections, developing bridge preventive maintenance programs, working on multi-year bridge maintenance plans for various public agencies throughout California, as well as providing complete engineering design and environmental clearance for identified bridge deficiencies and advancing such projects to the construction phases.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Highway Bridge Program is providing the City with an amount of $592,000 for fiscal year 2024-25 as shown in the table below. The project is included in the City of South San Francisco’s fiscal year 2024-25 Capital Improvement Program and there are sufficient funds to award the Consulting Services Agreement. Funding for the PS&E Phase of the project will be comprised of the Highway Bridge Program award in the amount of $592,000 with a City match of $148,000 from Infrastructure Reserves. It should also be noted that $148,000 in budget appropriations from Citywide Traffic Impact Fees will be removed from the project budget since its use is not applicable for rehabilitation-related projects.
|
FUNDING SOURCE |
AMOUNT |
PURPOSE |
|
Highway Bridge Program (HBP) |
$592,000 |
Design Phase |
|
Infrastructure Reserves |
$148,000 |
Local Match |
|
Infrastructure Reserves |
$88,000 |
Project Management / Contingency |
|
Total |
$828,000 |
|
RELATIONSHIP TO STRATEGIC PLAN
Approval of this action will contribute to the City’s Strategic Plan goal of improved Quality of Life by providing a safe, convenient, and accessible transportation network that is well-connected to the region through the maintenance of the City’s Grand Avenue Bridges Project.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommends that the City Council of the City of South San Francisco adopt a resolution awarding a Consulting Services Agreement to Biggs Cardosa Associates, Inc. of San Jose, California for preliminary engineering, environmental, and design services (Plans, Specifications, and Estimate, PS&E) for the Grand Avenue Bridges Project (st1804) in an amount not to exceed $701,254; approve Budget Amendment Number 25.030 to remove $148,000 in Citywide Traffic Impact Fees from the project budget; and authorize the City Manager to execute the consulting services agreements.
Attachments:
1. Grand Avenue Bridges Location Map