Adams County asks commissioners to advance $5.4M change order for 60 Second Avenue as utility delays and contamination swell costs

Adams County public-works staff asked commissioners to advance large change orders to close out two major road projects after utility delays and previously unseen environmental contamination pushed the tab far past original estimates.

Public Works Director Bridal Staley told the board that Change Order 5 for the 60 Second Avenue project requests $5,400,000 and that the project also has a history of four earlier change orders that used contingency or extended time. “The change orders that were talking about today . . . are larger in both cases than wed prefer them to be, due to utility delays and environmental contamination issues,” Staley said. The project crosses Broadway and, staff said, sits atop multiple historic landfills; one older landfill was discovered after design was complete.

Why it matters: the county is the project owner and ultimately must pay contractors and site costs. Staff said much of the additional cost comes from repeated traffic-control and potholing work, dewatering and hazardous-material handling tied to landfill material, and delay-related mobilization expenses when utilities do not meet commitments. Staff named Xcel Energy and permitting friction with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) as primary…