By Sam Wildow
TROY — On Monday, the Streets and Sidewalks Committee of the Troy City Council recommended moving forward with increasing a design contract with Strand Associates, Inc. by an additional $340,000 related to the design services for the West Main Street Corridor Improvements Project.
Troy City Council has not yet approved this amendment to the professional services agreement with Strand Associates, Inc.
In 2018, the council authorized an agreement with Strand Associates in the amount not to exceed $2,030,000 for the design services for phase 1 and 2 of the West Main Street Corridor Improvements project. As part of the services, the council also authorized an agreement with AES Ohio (previously known as Dayton Power and Light Company) for the relocation of utility poles and wires along West Main Street.
In 2020, the council authorized amending that agreement in the increased amount of $125,000 for the design, as well as coordinating with AES Ohio, for the burying of overhead utilities in a duct bank along West Main Street between and Penn and Dorset roads.
Assistant City Engineer Christy Butera said the city is receiving $7 million in funding for both phases of this project.
Butera explained this current increase of $340,000 that will come before the council is “due to the additional work effort in the project, largely dealing with many multiple meetings that we’re having to have with DP&L (AES Ohio) as they design this underground utility.”
She said the Ohio Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) Americans with Disabilities (ADA) standards have also been updated since the city first contracted with Strand Associates.
“ODOT, from the time this contract was entered into to now, changed their design standards in regard to handicap ramps, so it requires a lot more detailed pages for our design engineer to do,” Butera said. She said Strand Associates has expended about $500,000 in the extra work, adding how Strand Associates will be absorbing some of those costs.
According to city staff, the current increase of $340,000 before the council is for the following items:
• Utility coordination with AES Ohio to work through the duct bank design and the relocation of all public utilities in the project area;
• Additional right-of-way/easement acquisition meetings and coordination on a per property basis;
• Additional field survey and design for a misaligned sanitary sewer main at the Cedar Street intersection;
• Additional design efforts to meet design updates of ODOT’s ADA standards related to curb ramp and sidewalk slopes; and,
• Additional field survey and redesign of areas along the corridor due to the development of sites within the project limits.
This increase would bring the total design cost to not to exceed $2,495,000. According to city staff, the additional funds requests are within typical ODOT industry standard engineering fees for a project of this size.
According to the city of Troy, the West Main Street Corridor Project includes a number of street, sidewalk, sewer, and traffic control improvements, including “widening the street; replacing sidewalk and curb and gutter; installing a tree/curb lawn; reconstructing a traffic signal; replacing waterline, sanitary sewers, and storm sewers as necessary; and improving safety by upgrading traffic control devices, and implementing access management techniques.”
Phase 1 of the corridor improvement project is set to begin in 2022 from Cherry Street to Ridge Avenue. Phase 2 is scheduled for 2023.
The committee also provided a recommendation to move forward with vacating the easements between Inlot 10926 and Inlot 10925 in the Heritage at the Troy Country Club Subdivision, as well as a recommendation to authorize Director of Public Service and Safety Patrick Titterington to execute any documents related to the easements.
The Buildings and Utilities Committee also provided a recommendation to council to move forward with authorizing Titterington to advertise for bids and enter into a contract for the Drury Lane Storm Sewer Replacement Project at a total cost not to exceed $140,000. The project involves a section of the stormwater sewer located along Drury Lane at the CSX rail crossing between Hydraulic Avenue and South Madison Street. According to Titterington, the storm sewer needs to be replaced due to its age and the deterioration of the sewer. This project was also included in the 2021 stormwater budget.
These items have not yet been approved by the Troy City Council. The next regular meeting of the council is currently scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 4, in council chambers on the second floor of City Hall, located at 100 S. Market St.
