HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 8649 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. $649
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council December 21, 2004
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SUBJECT: LANCASTER AVENUE UPDATE
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Over the last two months, staff conducted a series of briefings to review the final Lancaster Avenue design
with stakeholders prior to TxDOT's anticipated letting of the construction contract. During these briefings,
various members of the Lancaster Steering Committee requested a review and possible redesign of the
structural tower elements within the street median, including the proposed vertical light features. Based on
this stakeholder input, staff intends to ask TxDOT to remove the median's tower structures from the
construction contract, and to proceed with the construction of all other street elements.
The removal of the median tower elements from the TxDOT construction documents will also solve an
immediate budgetary difficulty. The budget for the Lancaster Ave. project is $17,199,253, which includes
$10,286,961 of Federal funds, $2,011,100 of State funds and $4,901,192 City participation. The Federal
funds include a $1,486,961 Transportation and Community and System Preservation (TCSP) grant from the
Federal Highway Administration.
Costs to date for Right-of-Way and project planning and design equal $4,566,480, of which. the City is
,, ,�,, ing $3,079,519 and $1,486,961 is being reimbursed by the Federal TCSP grant. That leaves a balance
1,11-;821,973 of City funds currently available for construction.
The estigiated construction cost for the project(including the median tower structures) is $12,398,189.
TxDOT has determined that $3,359,863 of that cost is ineligible for Federal or State participation and must
be 100% City participation. The ineligible items are the 19 median tower structures and other
streetscape/landscape items along the sides of the street. The original budget had intended that Federal
funding could be used to pay for these structures.
TxDOT is requiring that the City pay that amount to TxDOT by January 5, 2005 if the project is to be let in
January. Furthermore, if the project is not let in January the plans will have to be modified to comply with
TxDOT's recently revised standard specifications, which would involve significant additional design costs
and schedule delay.
If TxDOT is directed to delete the median tower structures from the current plans it will reduce the City
participation amount from $3,359,863 to $1,636,449 for the remaining landscape/streetscape elements
along the sides of the street, which can then be paid before January 5, 2005 from the current balance of City
funds for the project. Accordingly, the construction schedule will not be delayed by this change. Other
funding will have to.be identified for enhancements in the median.
Staff has outlined the following next steps for the redesign of the median: First, staff will identify
appropriate funding sources and a proposed process by which the City might design and install elements of
nblic art along the median, subject to general design criteria. Staff will then review the proposed process
j � design criteria with the Lancaster Steering Committee, the Public Art Commission, and the City
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER 'FORT WORTH, TEXAS
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8649
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council December 21, 2004
� nTCe Page 2 of 2
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SUBJECT: LANCASTER AVENUE UPDATE
Council. Based on design suggestions already received, it is likely that the redesign will focus on signature
vertical elements that are:
• Designed by a highly qualified visual artist,
• Spaced so as to give the street a sense of visual rhythm, and
• Designed to complement the architecture of Lancaster Avenue's historic buildings.
Staff will request that Mayor Moncrief convene the Lancaster Steering Committee in the first quarter of
2005 to review the proposed process, design criteria, and funding options. Following the Steering
Committee's endorsement, staff will request the City Council's authorization to proceed with the proposed
redesign. The median redesign would proceed concurrently with the reconstruction of Lancaster Avenue
and should not delay the project's completion.
Charles Boswell
City Manager
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ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS