Title
a. Adopt Plans and Special Provisions for the Harkins Road and Hunter Lane Reconstruction, Project No. 1172 to reconstruct Harkins Road from 5th Street to Salinas City Limit and Hunter Lane from State Route 68 to Harkins Road; and
b. Authorize the Director of Public Works, Facilities and Parks to advertise the project’s “Notice to Bidders” in the Monterey County Weekly.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Adopt Plans and Special Provisions for the Harkins Road and Hunter Lane Reconstruction, Project No. 1172 to reconstruct Harkins Road from 5th Street to Salinas City Limit and Hunter Lane from State Route 68 to Harkins Road; and
b. Authorize the Director of Public Works, Facilities and Parks to advertise the project’s “Notice to Bidders” in the Monterey County Weekly.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
The Harkins Road and Hunter Lane project, in general, consists of reconstructing the existing asphalt roadway by grinding the existing pavement and reutilizing it as road base, and overlaying it with hot mix asphalt (HMA) concrete. Harkins Road is to be reconstructed from 5th Street in the community of Spreckels to the Salinas City Limits, approximately 1.4 miles. Hunter Lane is to be reconstructed from State Route 68 to Harkins Road, approximately 1.5 miles. Board Referral No. 2022.14 had been added to the Board of Supervisors’ referral matrix on April 19, 2022. The referral sought to investigate restricting portions of Harkins Road to one-way traffic, to help reduce truck traffic through the community of Spreckels.
At the March 7, 2023 Board Meeting, Public Works, Facilities and Parks (PWFP) staff reported back on the status to the Board. Staff shared that a community meeting was held on December 5, 2022, to share a preliminary concept layout for a one-way traffic pattern. The community meeting was well-attended and there was unanimous support for and excitement about the planned reconstruction of Harkins Road and Hunter Lane. PWFP staff committed to providing more detailed construction information to the community prior to the start of work, planned for mid/late Summer 2023. Attendees had numerous questions and suggestions, but there did not appear to be significant support to change to one-way traffic on Harkins Road. Instead, a key theme that emerged was for the County to proceed with the Harkins Road/Hunter Lane project, but to incorporate features into that planned project that would facilitate and encourage large trucks heading toward Spreckels from Salinas to turn onto Hunter Lane. These features include:
• A widened lane on southbound Harkins Road at Hunter Lane coupled with a large-radius corner to facilitate right-turn movements by tractor-trailer trucks from Harkins Road onto Hunter Lane.
• Removing the abandoned railroad crossing on Hunter Lane at Harkins Road and adjusting the grade of the entire intersection of Harkins and Hunter to eliminate the abrupt grade change and facilitate large truck turn movements; and
• Replacing old signage and install new reflective signage to clearly advise of the truck weight restriction in the Spreckels community. This includes advanced warning signage to be installed within the Salinas city limits to provide ample advance notification to truck drivers. PWFP staff has begun coordination with the City of Salinas on the advance warning signage as that would need to be approved via an Encroachment Permit issued by the City.
The Harkins Road project was identified as a top priority project under the Measure X program.
The bid opening for the project is set for August 25, 2023, at 2:00 p.m., in the Monterey
Room, Administration Building, Government Center, 168 West Alisal Street, Salinas, California 93901. Construction is scheduled to begin in October 2023.
In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), PWFP filed a Notice of Exemption for the Harkins Road and Hunter Lane project on June 28, 2023. The project has been determined to be categorically exempt (Class 1) because the project is to perform repair and maintenance of existing streets and similar facilities which involve no expansion of an existing use (See CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations [CCR] Section 15301 Existing Facilities).
Adopting the plans and special provisions and authorizing solicitation of construction bids for this project will allow PWFP to proceed into the construction phase. PWFP will return to the Board in September for approval to award the construction contract for this project.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The Office of the County Counsel-Risk Management and the Auditor-Controller’s Office have reviewed and approved the Special Provisions as to form, insurance and indemnification provisions and fiscal terms, respectively.
FINANCING:
The total estimated project cost, including engineering, construction management, and construction is $7.8 million. The project is being funded by the Road Fund, including Measure X, SB 1, and Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT).
The adopted FY 2023-24 Road Fund 002, budget includes $7.4 million in appropriations to fund the construction of this project.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS STRATEGIC INITIATIVES:
The project will pave approximately 2.9 miles of County maintained roads, extending the pavement life. The recommended action supports the following Board of Supervisors’ Strategic Initiatives:
__ Economic Development
__ Administration
__ Health & Human Services
X Infrastructure
X Public Safety
Prepared by: Jonathan L. Pascua, PE, Sr. Civil Engineer, (831) 755-8963
Reviewed by: Tom Bonigut, PE, Assistant Director of Public Works, Facilities and Parks
Approved by: Randell Ishii, MS, PE, TE, PTOE, Director of Public Works, Facilities and Parks
The following attachments are on file with the Clerk of the Board:
Attachment A - Location Map
Attachment B - Project Budget
Attachment C - Book 1 & Book 2