Denton PUB approves $3.3 million change order, cites 210‑day delay from gas‑line easements

The City of Denton Public Utility Board on April 14 approved a not‑to‑exceed change order of just over $3,300,000 for the Bonnie Brae Phase 3 widening project, Capital Projects staff told the board.

The change order covers escalation, additional general conditions, labor and equipment costs tied to a 210‑day extension that staff said resulted after EnLink took about nine months to acquire required easements on the Roselawn (south) end of the job. Seth Garcia, interim director of capital projects, said staff negotiated roughly $700,000 off the original contractor submittal before bringing the change order forward and that the $3.3 million uses existing contingency first and requests additional contingency to cover remaining costs.

The project widens Bonnie Brae from a two‑lane rural section to a four‑lane street between Roselawn and the I‑35 service road, adds sidewalks, street lighting and utility upgrades. Garcia told the board the team delayed issuing notice to proceed after the contract award to allow TxDOT and EnLink work to proceed; TxDOT required a sewer relocation and tie‑in on the north end and EnLink needed easements on the south end. Garcia said the project schedule targets substantial completion in September 2026 and final completion in November 2026.

Board members asked for a breakout of the change order components. Garcia said roughly $2.2 million is general conditions (project management, site facilities, trailers and related overhead for staff working on site during the extended period), about $1.8 million is labor, with the remaining amount covering material escalations, subcontractor costs, bonds and insurance. He said the contractor committed to return any funds for costs not actually incurred if the work finishes early.

Earlier contingency work processed for the contract included a roughly $44,000 adjustment tied to quantity corrections and a roughly $365,000 payout related to waterline work and bore conflicts at the KCS railroad, Garcia said. Board members pressed staff on whether contingency usage and the change order amounts were adequately documented; staff said cost validation is performed by a project team that includes CIP staff and engineering staff and that documentation backs the submittals.

The board moved to approve the change order; the motion passed (recorded in the meeting as passing "almost unanimously").