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Board approves advertising bids for SR‑88 Pine Grove Corridor to preserve nearly $9.8M in state funds
Summary
After discussing funding limits, contingency and lead‑agency options with Public Works, the Board voted to advertise and award the Pine Grove corridor construction contract under county administration to meet the California Transportation Commission deadline.
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to advertise construction bids for the State Route 88 Pine Grove Corridor improvement project, a step county staff said is necessary to preserve approximately $9.8 million in state funding.
Public Works Director Rich Vila told the board the California Transportation Commission approved a time extension that moves the construction award deadline to Aug. 31, 2025. Vila said there are two ways to proceed: (1) the county advertises, awards and administers the contract (Caltrans terminology "3a"); or (2) the county advertises and awards then Caltrans District 10 administers construction ("2a"), which would require new cooperation agreements and make the August deadline unlikely. Staff recommended option 3a.
Vila provided budget figures: an engineer's estimate for the advertised contract of about $7.125 million, a construction total near $7.5 million after Caltrans-furnished materials and supplemental items, roughly $1.0 million for construction engineering (down from a prior contract amount of $1.4 million), and about $9.7'$9.8 million total available. That yields roughly $1.2 million remaining for contingency (about 15% of construction total), which staff described as reasonable but not foolproof.
Board members asked whether the county could refuse any bids that exceed the available funding and whether the county could set an upper threshold in the bid advertisement; staff said the county may decline all bids if none are within budget and can disclose available funding in bid documents to avoid wasting contractors' time. Supervisors also discussed the risk that changing a project after award can affect Caltrans permits and approvals.
Supervisor motion language on the public record: the board moved to advertise the project for bids with county administration of the contract; the motion passed on a roll-call vote 5-0.
Ending: Staff will issue an invitation to bid consistent with the board's direction; if bids come in above available funding the board retains authority to reject them.
