Council OKs reimbursable utility relocations and awards engineering contract for University Boulevard widening

The Tuscaloosa City Council approved a reimbursable-agreement item and an engineering-services contract linked to an Allied road-widening project along SR 215/University Boulevard.

City staff said the project widens a stretch of road from a two-lane typical section to five lanes and will require utility relocations. Staff told the council the federal reimbursement structure makes most of the work reimbursable; staff reported that 96% of the relocation costs are reimbursable and that the city’s betterment — additional improvements the city is choosing to pay for — is roughly $208,000.

“That project altogether is $7,200,000 worth of engineering construction for utility relocations,” staff said, and the city’s portion of the betterment was described as approximately $280,000 in discussion (the presenter later clarified the betterment to be about $208,000 as the 4% share). The council approved both the reimbursable agreement and the engineering contract (the contract was awarded following an RFQ required due to federal funding).

Councilors asked whether portions of the road lie in county jurisdiction and discussed the geometry of local intersections; staff confirmed the 5-points intersection is included in the scope. Staff said the work is intended to reduce conflicts between utilities and the widened roadway and to add an 8-inch water line on the eastern extents to improve distribution in an area with many small-diameter galvanized lines.

The council approved the motions by voice vote as recorded in the transcript.