Council approves nearly $984,000 contract amendment to finish Old Hampton stormwater work

Public Works staff told council on July 21 that an additional stormwater contract amendment was needed to complete the Old Hampton utilities improvement project and to address a previously unknown pipe discovered near Grant Street.

Engineering manager Michael Roman said the contract amendment to Timberwolf Excavating (bid schedule D plus a Grant Street revision) totals $983,875 and will be paid from the storm drainage fund. Roman said bid schedule D covers stormwater improvements from Pearl Street to Clarkson and that the Grant Street revision addresses an uncharted storm pipe that crews found and needed to tie into the system. He described the unplanned work as “an owner-directed add to the project to enhance drainage in that area” and said the contractor’s submitted price for the added work was $74,675 for the Grant/Grama revision portion.

Council members asked how the discovery happened and whether the paving work would be affected. Roman explained the pipe was not shown on survey records and was discovered in excavation; crews will make temporary and then permanent patches, and the larger Complete Streets repaving for Old Hampton is scheduled for a later bid cycle that will resurface the full corridor. Roman estimated Grama/Grant work would take approximately two weeks and said the added trenching will be patched now and the entire roadway repaved as part of the planned resurfacing project so there are not a multiplicity of small repairs after the larger project finishes.

Council unanimously approved the amendment in a recorded vote. Staff said the change was recommended to avoid future failures or sinkholes by properly connecting the discovered pipe into the storm system before the Complete Streets work.