The Town Council has instructed staff to go ahead and prepare bid documents for completion of the shoulder paving work on Fountain Hills Boulevard.

In a rather complicated series of events the project, which was partially grant funded and managed by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), ended only half finished with no money left.

The town had made a priority for the project to pave both shoulders of the boulevard to prevent erosion and improve motorist safety.

Soon after work began in spring of 2019 it was discovered that utility lines were not buried as deep as the construction design was engineered for. As a result the project could not be completed as originally designed, which called for a drainage ditch just off the shoulder.

The option was to redesign the project which included concrete curb and gutter, creating a finished appearance superior to the ditch. There is also the added advantage that the concrete curb does a better job of containing runoff and controlling erosion.

However, the new design proved much more expensive than the original and when ADOT reached the allowable funding it halted the project. The west side is complete, but nothing has been done on the east side. It was also discovered that the utility positioning along the east side is similar to the west and requires a similar design.

Public Works Director Justin Weldy told the council the town is still waiting for ADOT to account for the full construction costs. The project needs to be closed out, as ADOT is still holding a portion of the town’s matching funds for the project.

Staff is proposing to include that funding to cover costs of completing the project. Town Manager Grady Miller said that amount is at least $70,000, but he believes it may be more. Weldy noted that it is not unusual for there to be delays in having funds returned from such projects.

Weldy outlined options for completing the work which include working with the original contractor to obtain a “not to exceed” bid to complete the job, or prepare a sealed bid package and award a new contact for completing the work.

Miller said that with the funding to be returned, coupled with money available in the town’s capital improvement fund, there is enough to finish the work.

The council voted 7-0 to direct the sealed bid process, with some belief that current market conditions may be advantageous to the bidding process.

Any bid would come back to the council for final approval.