Edwardsville council approves $26,000 change order to cover bridge engineering and easement work for Town Center Connector

Staff recommended and the Edwardsville City Council approved a $26,000 change order to the Town Center Connector contract to pay for unanticipated easement work, sidewalk relocations and structural engineering needed for a pedestrian bridge.

The staff member presenting the item said the work order increase covers “easement acquisition, sidewalk changes where it’s located and some of the design have changed,” and that “they felt that $26,000 would cover all of that.” He told the council the total cost associated with the added scope is about $129,660.

Why it matters: the project’s design review found nine parcels with incomplete or missing right-of-way documentation, forcing legal work to prepare deeds and exhibits. Staff said utilities and private improvements in parts of the corridor—especially near the baseball field and along 3rd Street—left the design team little option but to move the sidewalk in places onto city-owned property and to obtain new easements on other parcels.

Staff said the single largest driver of the change order was a new requirement from KDOT that the bridge crossing the creek include custom-constructed footers and abutments approved by a structural engineer. “KDOT is requiring them to structurally engineer the footers for the bridge,” the staff member said, adding that this prevents use of some premanufactured bridge elements and increases engineering costs.

Staff also described design choices meant to avoid major utility relocations: a 10-foot shared-use path by the ballfield that transitions to 5-foot sidewalks around the park, a painted bike lane on 9th Street and a decision to move Blake Street sidewalk placement from the north side to the south to reduce property impacts. The presenter estimated pre-construction engineering for a potential sidewalk along the east side of 9th Street could range from about $40,000 to $80,000 depending on scope, and noted it would be cheaper if bundled with construction mobilization.

Funding and schedule: the presenter said the change order would be paid from the project’s existing fund and pointed to a reimbursement resolution that could allow the city to bond and later reimburse the expense. Staff said the project is funded and that letting is expected in 2025.

Outcome: the council voted to approve the $26,000 change order, allowing staff to proceed with the additional engineering and easement work so the project can meet the scheduled letting.

Next steps: staff will pursue the required legal descriptions and easement acquisitions for the named parcels and complete the structural engineering KDOT now requires so the project can move to final procurement.