Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Contracts topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Adams County seeks $640,000 change order for Pecos Street Improvements after utility delays
Summary
County staff recommended approval of Change Order 6 — a $640,000 addition to the Pecos Street Improvements contract with Hammond Infrastructure Inc. — after utility relocation delays, primarily involving Xcel Energy, extended the project schedule by an estimated 322 days in aggregate.
Adams County staff recommended the Board of Commissioners approve a $640,000 change order for the Pecos Street Improvements project to cover contractor overhead caused largely by utility relocation delays.
Renee Valdez, the county’s capital improvements program manager, told the board the project’s original contract value was $9,960,000. The county previously approved a $1,100,000 change (for signal design changes requested by the City and County of Denver), and staff’s negotiated recommendation for change order 6 would raise the contract to $11,700,000. Valdez said the contractor’s original request for change order 6 was higher, but county negotiations and line-item edits reduced the ask and that the contractor “cut out about 16% of their ask” during the process.
Valdez and Steve Green, infrastructure and stormwater manager, laid out the scheduling impacts staff attributes to utility providers. Staff reported combined utility delays equal to 322 days across multiple providers; Xcel Energy accounted for approximately 238 of those days. Valdez said the county documented delay days in a Gantt overlay to distinguish stacked versus sequential impacts and worked with the contractor, Hammond Infrastructure Inc., to reduce the overall cost request.
Board members pressed staff about remedies and relationship management with utilities. Commissioners asked whether utilities are required to use their own crews and whether there are contractual penalties available; staff said utility work is performed by the utilities’ approved contractors and that Colorado law requires utilities to cooperate on relocations but does not provide liquidated-damages mechanisms the county can enforce against utilities.
Several commissioners requested stronger, executive-level engagement with utility leadership to reduce recurring delays on county projects. Staff said the county has convened executive-level meetings with utility executives and would provide the board with regular updates and talking points to support outreach.
Why it matters: The Pecos Street corridor project — widening travel lanes, replacing roads, upgrading drainage and utilities and adding medians and pedestrian improvements — is one of several county capital projects affected by external utility work. Delays increase project costs and extend construction impacts for residents and businesses along the corridor.
Next steps: Staff recommended the board approve change order 6 and planned to place the item on the board’s consent/regular agenda for final action in the coming weeks. Staff also committed to continue executive-level engagement with utilities and to present project closeout timelines and art-installation schedule updates when the contract returns for final approval.
Details: Change Order 1 (signal design changes requested by the City and County of Denver) was previously approved for $1,100,000. Change Order 6 begins from an initial contractor ask of $815,000; negotiations reduced the recommended addition to $640,000. Staff reported anticipated construction completion of the Pecos corridor work in the third quarter of the year, with punch-list and closeout items in Q2.
