Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Streetscape Project topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Clifton council asks VDOT to combine Streetscape bids and seek extra funding amid high utility relocation costs
Summary
The Clifton Town Council voted to ask VDOT to advertise the duct-bank and roadway portions of the Main Street Streetscape as a combined project and to request available additional funding after bids came in higher than estimates, driven largely by utility relocation costs in Northern Virginia.
The Clifton Town Council voted Feb. 3 to ask the Virginia Department of Transportation to advertise the duct-bank and roadway portions of the Main Street Streetscape project as a combined procurement and to pursue additional funding if bids exceed estimates.
Council members and the Streetscape project team said unusually high utility-relocation costs in Northern Virginia—largely tied to heavy data-center-related utility demand—were the primary reason the initial duct-bank bids were deemed unresponsive. At a Jan. 23 meeting with VDOT, the agency suggested combining the duct-bank and roadway work for advertisement to reduce schedule and coordination risk and to produce more useable bid pricing information.
The request approved by the council asks VDOT to advertise the duct bank and roadway work together while keeping separate UPCs (project identifiers), to reserve the town’s right to seek up to the allowable funding at the time of award, and to request a schedule extension associated with rebidding. Councilmember Darrell Poe moved that staff draft the letter based on those bullets; Vice Mayor Jay Davis seconded the motion, which passed by poll with five councilmembers in favor and one dissenting vote.
Mayor Lynn Screen and members of the Streetscape committee, including project managers Susan and Geri Yantis, told the council a combination strategy would allow VDOT to evaluate the roadway bid amounts alongside duct-bank bids and to minimize delays associated with coordinating utility transfers by NOVEC, Verizon and Cox. The project memo in the meeting record states that some roadway bid items came in lower than adjusted engineer estimates while duct-bank utility bids were excessively over estimates, prompting VDOT to recommend a combined advertisement.
Councilmember Steve Effros cautioned that residents had previously been told the project would not exceed roughly $450,000 for a one-block scope and asked what would happen if the town cannot secure additional funding. Other councilmembers said the letter would not obligate the town to new commitments but would open avenues to pursue CTB (Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board) and regional funds identified by VDOT.
The council’s action does not authorize project expenditures beyond previously approved amounts. Next steps include council review and approval of the final letter to VDOT and awaiting returned bids to clarify total funding need and scope adjustments. VDOT and the project team will continue coordinating with utility companies and Norfolk Southern Railroad on easements and rail-right-of-way items.
The Streetscape project update and the council’s motion were discussed during the Feb. 3 meeting; the council also approved other related project administrative items separately.
