City staff recommended that the commission authorize a design agreement with Barge Design Solutions for two bridge repair projects: Crockett Road (a bridge/railroad crossing showing approach settlement) and the River Oaks Drive box culvert/bridge.

Staff said the engineering portion of the Crockett Road repair is unusually large relative to construction because the work will be staged to maintain traffic and will require extensive traffic control, permitting and coordination with CSX. "In hindsight we could have considered putting that into the project... the engineering work would cost nearly as much as the construction," a staff member said during the briefing.

Commissioners and staff discussed timing and traffic impacts. Staff said staged work will likely keep two lanes operational much of the time but that Crockett Road repairs may last eight to nine months because crews will work one side at a time. If the city closed the bridge for a full reconstruction, staff said the work could be completed in six to eight weeks, but staff did not recommend full closure because of local traffic and school-related flows. Construction is tentatively targeted for summer 2026, with engineering work in 2025; staff said coordination with CSX may affect schedule and permitting.

Staff also noted that CSX will require safety fencing on the reconstructed Crockett Road bridge because of the rail adjacency; staff said similar fencing appears on other local bridges such as McEwen and Smith Park and that decorative options would raise the cost. The fence requirement will affect aesthetics and cost, and staff said design alternatives will be presented in the engineering scope.

Next steps: staff recommended adding Barge Design Solutions to the CIP as the design consultant and returning a contract or change order for commission action at a future meeting. The design scope will include traffic-control planning, staging, CSX coordination and options for decorative versus standard safety fence treatments.

Ending

Staff said the engineering agreement would ensure detailed traffic control planning and CSX coordination before construction is scheduled; staff will return proposed contract documents for commission consideration.