Board reallocates bond funds and amends contract to finish Rock Point bridge repairs

The Board of Finance voted unanimously March 24 to reallocate bond proceeds and amend the construction contract to complete repairs at the Rock Point Bridge, a structure that provides public access across a private parcel under conservation easement.

City capital staff told the board the bridge construction began in February and that subsurface ledge conditions differed from exploratory expectations. That discrepancy required a redesign of abutment and slope-stability measures, added materials and new scope, and triggered the request for additional funding to finish the project.

Cheyenne (capital staff) explained the finance side: parks staff had identified an unneeded balance in a prior 2019 bike-path project that could be reallocated. The capital committee reviewed the proposal on March 6 and the city’s bond counsel completed a review; city staff presented a resolution to formally transfer $200,000 in Series 2019A bond proceeds to the Rock Point Bridge project.

Technical staff described the field issue in more detail. Staff said the bridge crosses a publicly used bike path and that rock walls and the actual ledge profile at the site complicated the standard abutment design. After consultant and contractor input, staff said they have a revised design and a path to finish the job, but that the design change produced added costs.

Staff also addressed public concern about the use of city funds for work on land that is privately owned. City staff said the parcel is subject to a conservation easement that provides public access and that the city holds a bike-path easement; staff also said there is an understanding with a local transportation partner — referenced in the meeting as "B TRANs" — about replacement of the structure. Those arrangements, staff said, are the reason city capital funds are being applied to the project.

The board approved a resolution to reallocate $200,000 in Series 2019A bond proceeds to the Rock Point Bridge project; the motion to move the funds was made by Councilor Graffner and seconded by Councilor Barlow and carried unanimously. The board then approved a separate motion to amend the construction contract and the project budget; that motion was moved by Councilor Trapper and seconded by Councilor Carpenter and also passed unanimously.

Staff characterized this additional funding as the final amount the project will need to reach completion, and they thanked the consultant and contractor for revising the design. Councilors asked questions about public access and the conservation-easement arrangements; staff confirmed the city’s ongoing interest in maintaining the bike path and trail access that the bridge serves.