Committee approves airport agreements and design work; cultural-resource testing could affect June bid timeline

The Tuscaloosa City Public Projects Committee approved three airport-related agenda items that city staff said are tied to environmental review and grant deadlines for an ongoing runway-extension and cargo-ramp program.

The committee authorized a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Alabama State Historic Preservation Office to incorporate stipulations from cultural-resources reviews into construction contracts for the runway-extension project. Committee members were told the MOA narrows a previously studied area to a two-acre parcel where cultural resources were identified and calls for more extensive excavation and evaluation before substantial fill is placed on that site.

Separately, the committee approved Amendment No. 1 to a work authorization to allow the consultant Atkins to add phase 1 cultural-resources work to the design and environmental scope for a cargo overflow ramp. That amendment was described as reimbursable under a federal grant from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law; city staff said the overall allotment tied to that program will accumulate to about $3.9 million over five years and that design work executed to date is roughly $270,000. City staff said the actual fieldwork for the phase 1 cultural-resources effort is expected to include about 200 shovel tests taking approximately three to five days, and the laboratory analysis and agency review could extend the task to roughly four months.

The committee also authorized a conditional work authorization for Atkins to perform design and bid-phase services for the airport—s runway-extension project. The conditional authorization was listed at $1,568,948.71 and is undergoing a fee audit. City staff said FAA has asked the city to proceed with design so the project can meet a June bid deadline; staff and the consultant said they are discussing contingency options with federal program managers if the cultural-resources work produces significant findings that could delay permitting or bidding.

Jeff (staff member), who introduced the airport items, told the committee that when federal dollars are involved the city must follow environmental-review requirements and that cultural-resources work under Section 106 can require excavation and coordination with tribal representatives. He said the two-acre area called out in the MOA "needs a full excavation" rather than sampling, based on requests from the tribal representative the city is coordinating with.

Atkins senior project manager Darren Duckworth said the design timeline is "tight" and will require additional staff to meet the deadline. Jeff and Atkins staff said that if the phase 1 work finds significant resources, the city may need to be more delicate in that zone and that could affect grant execution and the construction schedule.

All three items were moved, seconded and approved by voice vote during the meeting. The transcript records no roll-call tallies or named vote counts for these items.