Council approves $36,135 change order for Town Center sewer; preconstruction set for Ida Gamble Street project

The Lansing City Council approved Change Order 1 for the Town Center sewer project to replace an additional 72 feet of 8-inch pipe at a cost of $36,135 after contractors and the city engineer found the existing ductile iron and clay pipe unsuitable for reuse.

City staff said the decision followed excavation work that revealed heavily eroded ductile iron pipe. “Oh, this is just a change order because of the condition of the pipe,” a contractor representative said; staff confirmed the exhibits showed how eroded the pipe was.

Council action: A motion to approve Change Order 1 in the amount of $36,135 passed on roll call; the allowable contract amount was raised to $1,118,019.

Separately, Public Works staff reported a preconstruction conference is scheduled next Tuesday for the Ida Gamble Street sewer project; construction is slated to begin in June and will require closing Ida Street “for a period of time” while the intersection is rebuilt. Staff said detours will be posted and that with school out, impacts should be minimal. “We should be with school being out, it should should be minimal impact to the local area,” a department head said.

Why this matters: the change order addresses unforeseen pipe deterioration found during construction to protect the longevity of sewer improvements and avoid future failures. The Ida Gamble project will require a temporary intersection closure; staff said access will be maintained to adjacent properties via posted detours.

Next steps: staff will hold the preconstruction conference, coordinate public information and detours with the city’s public information officer, and proceed with construction under the revised contract amount.