Taxpayer bill for 178 interchange going up after all
| Tuesday, Nov 17 2009 06:30 PM
Last Updated Tuesday, Nov 17 2009 07:15 PM
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A costly contract change -- one that will be paid mostly by taxpayer dollars -- is on tap for the consulting firm overseeing construction of the troubled interchange at Highway 178 and Fairfax Road.
The Bakersfield City Council is slated to approve $714,000 in additional funds Wednesday night for Parsons Transportation Group Inc., which won a $3 million contract in 2007 to manage construction of the interchange.
The requested increase will add more than 23 percent of the original contract amount to the new total. Nearly $632,000 of the extra cost will be paid by federal money -- taxpayer dollars. The rest is covered by developer fees.
City officials say the increase is not related to a design flaw delaying completion of the westbound offramp.
"This change order is not due to those design errors," said Bakersfield City Manager Alan Tandy in an e-mail.
Other issues including utility relocation, site conditions and adjustments requested by state transportation officials have delayed work for construction managers, he said.
"When the contractor is delayed for legitimate reasons the construction management contract (Parsons) has to be extended also," he wrote.
Parsons' construction management contract was added to a $40 million contract it won in 2006 to manage the Thomas Roads Improvement Program.
TRIP is a cooperative effort involving local and state government entities formed to spend $630 million in federal transportation money for Bakersfield-area freeway projects snagged by now-retired Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Bakersfield, in 2005.
The single-page report prepared by city staffers in August 2007 recommending the council approve $3 million for Parsons to manage interchange construction contained no significant details regarding the scope or length of work. It did not warn that project delays could increase Parsons' costs. The council approved the deal without discussion.
Local project managers from Parsons did not return calls requesting comment Tuesday. The media representative for TRIP could not be reached.
Interchange designer Parsons Brinckerhoff, also known as PB Americas Inc., has agreed to cover costs to correct its mistakes. (Parsons Brinckerhoff is not related to Parsons Transportation Group. Parsons Brinckerhoff was acquired by a British firm, Balfour Beatty, on Oct. 23 for $626 million.) The firm was paid $1.5 million for its design.
Redesigning and rebuilding the westbound ramp could cost the designer $1 million, project officials estimate. They have been unable to predict how long the redesign and reconstruction will take.
The $714,000 amendment is scheduled to be approved without discussion unless requested otherwise by a councilmember or member of the public.
The Bakersfield City Council meets at 5:15 p.m. in council chambers at City Hall, 1501 Truxtun Ave.
