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Bel Aire council approves lime‑treated subgrade for stalled Woodlon Road work, authorizes $712,024 change order
Summary
After finding soft soils that halted construction, the council voted 4–0 to approve a change order for Woodlon Road that uses a lime‑treated subgrade to speed work and lower near‑term cost. Engineers said the option requires lab testing and underdrains; staff said construction could resume the week of July 6.
Bel Aire City Council voted unanimously to approve Change Order No. 26 for the Woodlon Road reconstruction project, choosing a lime‑treated subgrade remediation over a full remove‑and‑replace approach.
City Engineer Ann Stevens told the council the project had been halted after crews found soft soils under the excavation. “The project on Woodlon was halted about two weeks into construction because we found soft soils down in the bottom of the excavation,” Stevens said, and staff presented two remediation options recommended by PEC geotechnical engineers.
Bob Henthornne of PEC described the alternatives. The conservative approach would remove the problem material and replace it with compacted rock and geotextile and add underdrains. The option the council adopted — a lime‑treated subgrade — involves scarifying roughly the top 12 inches, adding and mixing lime to chemically stabilize the soils, testing the treated material in the lab to meet plasticity index criteria, installing geotextile and underdrains, and monitoring compaction and moisture as the contractor proceeds.
Councilmember Mike Proctor moved to approve the lime‑treatment option and authorize signatures for an amount not to exceed $712,024; the motion was seconded by Councilmember Greg David and passed 4–0. Proctor said his choice was driven by budget and schedule considerations, noting the lime option “takes less cash and less time for the community.”
PEC engineers stressed that either remediation would require field testing and density checks. “For the lime treatment we will be collecting samples, taking them into our lab, and verifying the PI and compaction requirements,” Henthornne said. Stevens said the contractor will perform compaction tests and moisture checks on lifts as the work proceeds.
Staff said the contractor expects to be able to restart work the week of July 6, regardless of which alternate is used. The council meeting record also notes possible future requests from Garver for additional construction engineering time if the firm exhausts its current contract allowances; those potential fees were presented to the council for awareness but were not part of tonight’s approval.
Next steps: staff will execute the change order paperwork with Pearson Construction LLC and monitor the contractor’s testing and compaction documentation as construction resumes.
