R2009-230 APPROPRIATING FUNDS FOR AGREEMENT WITH ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

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Engineers with Chastain completed a review of the City's 5 precast deck beam bridges in 2004 and determined a need to replace the MacArthur/ Stevens Creek bridge deck at a future date. In April, 2007, the City requested Chastain to update the structure review prior to a contract for design. The follow-up inspection by Chastain and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) indicated the need to replace the entire bridge (i.e. deck, superstructure, and substructure including footings). Their structural review indicated that the bridge is safe for normal traffic; however, a weight restriction was placed on the bridge in 2007. In a letter issued on October 30, 2009, IDOT required the City to post further weight restrictions on this bridge. Due to the critical nature of the MacArthur/ Stevens Creek Bridge to the area residents for emergency vehicle access, school busses, etc., the City Council, by previous Council action, determined that the bridge should be replaced before more significant weight restrictions are placed on it. PubGc Meetings Held A public meeting was held on September 23, 2008, early in the preliminary design process. A follow-up public meeting was held on September 17, 2009, to present the final design. Construction staging was a major topic for both meetings. The public was informed that the bridge would be completed half at a time to allow access and Ash Avenue would be closed at MacArthur during the construction to enable safer traffic operation through the work zone. The Decatur Park District also presented its plan to construct a bike path under the bridge and extend it along the north side of Stevens Creek in future years. The future bike trail is accommodated in the bridge replacement design. Project Funding On April, 14, 2009, the Decatur Urbanized Area Transportation Study(DUATS) allocated $447,408 in American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) funding and $352,592 in Surface Transportation Urban (STU) funding for a total of$800,000 in Federal funds toward the replacement of the MacArthur/ Stevens Creek Bridge. At the time of this action, the estimated construction cost was $1.0 million. The City's share of the cost was planned to be paid from the Capital Improvement fund. The current construction estimate for the project is just under $1.3 million and the previous funding plan is not adequate: On November 10, 2009, the DUATS Technical Committee allocated an additional $240,000 in STU funding for the bridge to bring Federal funding to $1,040,000 to cover a full 80% of the currently estimated project cost. As of this writing the Federal Highway Administration has yet to approve the additional funding. It is proposed that the City's portion of the work cunently estimated at $260,000 be allocated from the Motor Fuel Tax Fund. The City's 20% share was reallocated from the Capital fund to the MFT fund to reduce the impact to the General fund. The City needs to retain the services of a structural engineer to provide construction engineering assistance during the course of the project. The contractor must provide detailed designs for many items for the bridge construction; these must be reviewed and approved by a licensed structural engineer. Additionally, problems, issues, or questions typically arise during the bridge construction that can only be addressed by the design engineer. Chastain has proposed an amount of$25,000 to perform the construction assistance required for this project. Engineering cost is planned to be paid from the Capital fund. Page � 2