Council approves Arlington Park drainage-basin improvements; low bid ~ $594,912, project funded partly by $468,000 state grant

The Dublin City Council on Sept. 8 approved Resolution 46-25 to accept the lowest and best bid for the Arlington Park Drainage Basin Improvements Project.

Nut graf: Staff said the project will reconfigure flood routing in the Arlington Park basin to reduce repeated flooding of the Brand Road pedestrian tunnel, increase storage capacity and upsize an outlet pipe; the council accepted a low bid from Mr. Excavator for $594,911.50 and staff said the project is funded by the 2025–2029 CIP with a City allocation of $570,000 plus a $468,000 state strategic community investment grant already received in October 2024.

Michael, presenting the item, described the recurrent flooding of the Brand Road pedestrian tunnel and the engineering response after a Labor Day 2022 event that staff characterized as a 100-year storm. The project scope includes raising the northern embankment, regrading the basin perimeter to increase storage capacity so the basin can fully contain a 100-year event, increasing the basin outlet from 24 inches to 36 inches, and constructing a berm on the north side of Brand Road to reduce tunnel flooding from North Fork Indian Run.

Staff said the project’s engineer’s estimate was $595,000; five bids were received and the low bidder was Mr. Excavator at $594,911.50. The panel noted the low bid was about $200,000 below other bidders; staff said it had vetted the bidder’s references and was confident of the firm’s capacity to perform. Staff also said the project includes an allowance to reconstruct the shared-use path around the basin perimeter as needed because construction access and flooding have degraded sections of the path.

The project is expected to start after contract execution and be complete by May 1, 2026. Council approved the resolution on a roll-call vote.

Ending: Staff will proceed with contract execution and coordinate notifications to nearby property owners and users of the trail system; construction is expected to begin in the fall to meet permitting and seasonal constraints.