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Council tables Union Pacific crossing supplement after staff explains railroad-driven cost overrun
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Summary
Council tabled consideration of a supplement to the Union Pacific at-grade crossing agreement for the Keller Hicks Road improvements after staff explained that subsurface conditions and Union Pacific procedures raised an estimated contractor cost from roughly $54,000 to about $104,000 and that the railroad’s cost-setting limits the city’s leverage.
City staff presented a capital-improvements update April 21 and explained why a payment supplement tied to Union Pacific’s work on the Keller Hicks Road project was on the agenda. Staff described the railroad’s estimating and billing process and said subsurface conditions required additional conduit and conductors, producing a cost increase staff illustrated with an example that rose from about $54,000 to roughly $104,000 for the work that was actually done.
Staff warned that working with Union Pacific limits municipal leverage because the railroad contracts and estimates its own scope of work; if crews discover more is required they perform the work to maintain safety and functionality and later bill the city under the agreement. Staff said the crossing item could be pulled from consent if the council preferred and offered to seek further clarification from engineers and the contractor.
Council asked practical questions about whether the contract terms obligate the city to pay any overage and what would happen if the city refused. Staff said refusal would be a contract breach and described insurance and contractual mechanisms the city uses, but urged that more detail and potential design/contract remedies be clarified with engineers and the designer.
After discussion the council moved and seconded to table the supplement (F3) to the public-highway at-grade crossing agreement; the motion to table was approved and the item was removed from the consent action for later consideration.
Staff also gave broader capital updates in the presentation, including the Elm Street project’s underground work and timing for a bridge in about a month, and noted the city is avoiding overlapping construction windows with neighboring Southlake on the Union Church waterline.
