Smith Ranch Road Widening Project (Hughes Ranch Rd. to North of Broadway)

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Project Overview

About. The purpose of the proposed project is to improve mobility and connections of the existing roadway for future projected traffic growth by providing a continuous four-lane roadway and a shared use path. In addition, the project would enhance overall safety, in accordance with the City’s Major Thoroughfare Plan, by converting narrow asphalt lanes with roadside ditches into a concrete curb and gutter roadway with medians. The project would not require displacements. Construction is anticipated to begin in mid-2020 with a duration of approximately one year.

Scope. The proposed Smith Ranch Road Widening Project, from Hughes Ranch Road to North of Broadway, includes upgrading the existing two-lane asphalt roadway to a four-lane, divided, concrete curb-and-gutter roadway with an underground storm sewer system, constructing a continuous ten-foot-wide shared use path along the west side of the roadway with pedestrian ramps, and adding landscaping and irrigation and fiber from Broadway to the Westside Event Center.

Schedule Info

	*Base Line*	*Current*
*Design Start*	November 2016	November 2016
*Bid Start*	November 2018	October 2023
*Construction Start*	March 2023	January 2024
*Proposed Construction Completion*	March 2024	January 2025

Budget and Funding Info

Below is funding and budget information for the project. Last updated March 2022.

Funding Sources
General Revenue - Cash	-
Certificates of Obligation	$3,204,785
General Obligation Bonds	$3,780,328
Other Funding Sources (Community Project Funds)	$2,000,000
Other Funding Sources	$4,710,887
Total Funding Sources	$13,696,000

Estimated Expenditures
PER	-
Land	$2,200,000
Design	$1,628,558
Construction	$7,545,645
Construction Management/Inspection	$984,000
Construction Materials Testing	$75,000
FF&E	-
Total Expenditures	$12,433,203

Project Contingency	($1,262,797)
Project Balance	($0)

2023

June

Upcoming Contract Amendment:

The current amendment for DEC covers the additional effort to complete the remaining work to finalize the acquisition and design. It includes the design of a temporary driveway for JC Penney shopping center to allow for access during construction and the design of Wooten Rd. intersection, Brazoria Drainage District 4 access driveway and Hickory Slough crossing, revisions to Argovitz pond, and revisions to the Drainage Impact and Mitigation Report. It also includes bid and construction phase services not previously provided in the original contract.
DEC drafted a proposed amendment to cover the additional level of effort in the amount of $165,335.00 for a revised contract amount of $1,614,057.65. The Projects Staff reviewed the proposal and determined that the proposal is complete and reasonable and will provide the effort necessary to complete this project through the final design, bid, and construction phase.

Upcoming Contract for CMCI:

Also being presented for Council consideration is a Professional Services Agreement with HDR Engineering, Inc. in the amount of $938,797.20. The agreement is based on the City's Standard Scope of Services for Construction Management. The scope of services includes day-to-day construction management, scheduling, and inspection. HDR, Inc. will provide on-site technical observation of the Contractor's activities and project oversight consistent with TxDOT LGPP standards and guidelines, chair pre-construction meetings, coordinate materials testing and review materials tests, prepare daily reports, review invoices, and prepare monthly reimbursement requests to TxDOT, and assist in project closeout

Current Status:

Since February 2021, DEC has been working on completing the design and acquisitions. The 95% design was submitted to the City and TxDOT in December 2022, but there remained unacquired parcels and revisions to the final design. The only outstanding parcel is the AT&T parcel, which includes an access manhole for utility maintenance. The staff has initiated condemnation of this parcel through our legal counsel. The hearing for this matter is scheduled for the end of June 2023. In an effort to meet the urgent needs of communities around the country, the House Appropriations Committee invites Members of Congress to request funding for various types of projects in their communities (Community Project Funding - CPF). In FY 2021, staff submitted a request to U.S. Congressman Troy Nehls for legislatively appropriated CPF funding from the House and Congressionally-Directed Spending on the part of the Senate. The request was approved and the City’s proposed $2 million allocation for the use in the completion of the TxDOTfunded expansion of Smith Ranch Road will assist in meeting the Local Share of that federally funded project.

Next Steps:

Upon approval of the amendment and CMCI contract, the design will be reviewed by the CMCI firm for constructability prior to bidding. After comments are addressed, and the plans and specifications are updated to reflect the review, staff will move to the bid phase of the project.. The construction phase will utilize the Lowest Responsible and Responsive Bidder (Local Gov’t Code Chapter 252.43) procurement process.

Read June Memo

2022

March

Highlights:

Smith Ranch Rd. was originally scheduled to bid in February 2022, provided acquisition was complete by April 2021. The letting schedule was changed to October 2022 to accommodate a long delay in receiving an amended Advanced Funding Agreement (AFA) from TxDOT as reported in previous memos.
The Right of Way acquisition process has been complicated by parcel owner boundary disputes, incomplete county records, deceased owners with no clear chain of title and protracted negotiations finally leading to condemnation.
95% Plans and Specifications were submitted to TxDOT for the final review and comment which should complete in August.
Staff is reviewing a contract amendment request from the design engineer, which will be on a forthcoming council agenda.

Upcoming Work Items:

Finalize the change amendment to the design engineer’s contract to continue the Right of Way administration, address the signal operation during construction and the ponding issues. Staff will report on that upon completion in the next memo.
Schedule condemnation hearings with the Court docket and finalize closing documents on three of the outstanding parcels.
Design engineer will add the inlets to address the ponding at the Hughes Ranch Rd. intersection into the plans and change out the sheets in the plan set in TxDOT’s review so as not to delay the approval.

Read March Memo

2021

February

Next Steps

Staff expects to bring this amendment to Council on the February 22nd Agenda for consideration and award. The project is currently at 90% design and TxDOT has issued the Letter of Authority to start right-of-way acquisition. As mentioned above, Dannenbaum has continued to advance the ROW portion of the project using the remaining funds in the contract. Title reports have been re-confirmed to verify ownership and preliminary revised ROW maps have been submitted to TxDOT for review and approval. Appraisals and appraisal reviews are in process and are scheduled to complete by early March. Initial offers will start to go out as soon as appraisals are approved by TxDOT with Final offers scheduled for release in the summer of 2021. First acquisitions should be acquired in early summer for those parcels that can be negotiated quickly, while those requiring condemnation are scheduled for a February 2022 completion.

The 95% plan submission is scheduled for the summer of 2021 to coincide with the start of property acquisition. The 100% submittal is scheduled for October 2021 with letting scheduled for early 2022.

Construction is planned for 12 months and is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2023.

Recommendation

At the February 22, 2021 City Council meeting, Staff will recommend that Council authorize award of a contract amendment to Dannenbaum Engineering Corporation for ROW and Design Services in the amount of $255,109.15. Following this authorization, the remainder of the design changes and additional services related to right-of-way will begin.

Read February 2021 Memo

2020

March

Highlight: Project receives new Advanced Funding Agreement

The new Advanced Funding Agreement (AFA), which will require the termination of previous AFAs, arrives in part due to changes in funding sources for Right of Way acquisition. Funding sources were changed from State Surface Transportation Program – Metropolitan Mobility funds to Federal Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) funds for right of way line items.

During the project’s inception in 2013, Smith Ranch Road was selected by the Houston-Galveston Area Council (HGAC) to receive funding from federal and state transportation funds through the Transportation Improvement Program, with 80 percent allocated from those funds, and the remaining 20 percent funded by the City.

AFA after learning that State funding that would have been allocated to right-of-way acquisition was no longer allowed per new regulations. City staff proceeding to work with TxDOT and HGAC to procure a funding revision.

Along with updating the source of funding, new or updated articles in the AFA reflect changes to Civil Rights Compliance language and Non-Discrimination statues in order to secure the federal funding. The City’s funding allocation and 20 percent participation remains unchanged from the previous agreement.

March 2019 Agenda Item

2019

November

Highlights:

In September 2019, the City met with TxDOT and H-GAC regarding revising the funding source for ROW acquisition, which has now been approved by TxDOT and FHWA. It is anticipated that offers will begin in the second quarter of 2020. Dannenbaum is continuing to work toward 95% plan submittal to TxDOT but the delay in ROW acquisition may extend the let date to September 2020.

January

Highlights:

Dannenbaum submitted 60% plans to TxDOT and the City on 7/12/2018.
- Review comments were returned to Dannenbaum on 8/30/2018 for incorporation into 90% plans.
A 60% Utility Coordination Meeting was held at TxDOT on 8/16/2018 attended by Centerpoint Energy, Leidos Engineering, Jones & Carter, and MUD No. 6, in addition to TxDOT representatives, Dannenbaum, and City staff. Dannenbaum also contacted Centerpoint Gas, AT&T, and Comcast.
Notices Affording Opportunity for Public Hearing were published and letters sent via certified mail to public officials and adjacent landowners in mid-October with a deadline of 11/14/2018 to request a public hearing. No requests were received. 
Berg-Oliver Associates, environmental subconsultant to Dannenbaum, applied for a Nationwide 14 (Transportation) Permit with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on behalf of the City, and is proposing to purchase credits in an approved mitigation bank to compensate for 0.115 acres of jurisdictional wetland impact.
- As part of its planning coordination, staff is working with PEDC and Buc-ee’s to the north of Argovitz Pond to minimize the environmental impact of the project and accommodate potential future development.
BDD4’s District Engineer has agreed to propose to their Board an encroachment agreement with the City, allowing the City to install sidewalk on BDD4 property along the top of bank at Argovitz Pond, stipulating that it be full depth 8” concrete sidewalk with lime-treated subgrade along the entire frontage of the property to accommodate BDD4 mowing equipment that will need to access the Pond from the road.
TxDOT’s District Office approved the 4th submittal of the ROW maps on 11/26/2018 and forwarded to Austin for final review and approval.
- Once the project has full environmental clearance and the ROW Authorization Letter is received from TxDOT, consultant and staff will begin actual ROW negotiations.
Dannenbaum is working with Energy Transfer Pipeline to obtain a Letter of No Objection to cross its pipeline with fiber at the southern end of the project.
The Engineering Department has approved a commercial driveway for Diamond Ice Company, 2401 Smith Ranch Road, along its north property line to align with the median break for the shared driveway for Service King and the medical building on the west side.
- The AT&T property to the north will have a separate driveway. Additionally, as part of the Hughes Ranch Road project, the City entered into an agreement with Richard and Tessie Atcheson to provide a driveway on Smith Ranch Road for their property on the southeast corner of Hughes Ranch Road and Smith Ranch Road.
Dannenbaum submitted 90% plans and project manuals to TxDOT on 12/20/2018, and 90% plans and project manuals to the City on 12/26/2018. Plans have been distributed for review and comment by City departments.
TxDOT moved the letting date to May 2020 after a prolonged process with TxDOT to approve the alignment of the roadway over the existing 10’x10’ reinforced concrete boxes.
- The design phase is on schedule to meet this letting date.

January 2019 memo.

2018

May 2018

Highlights

The Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) and 30% plans were reviewed by City staff, BDD4, and TxDOT in February 2018, with comments returned to Dannenbaum on March 2, 2018
City staff met with Larry Marr of Dannenbaum on May 9, 2018. The majority of the previous Dannenbaum project team (Project Manager, Project Engineer, and Berg-Oliver’s Environmental Specialist) have all recently resigned from their positions, causing a delay and creating a gap in the continuity of collective knowledge on this project. As a result, the final PER has not yet been published. Staff is working with Dannenbaum’s principal to re-staff the project and recover the schedule. Work is continuing in the interim.nts returned to Dannenbaum on March 2, 2018.

May 2018 memo.

February 2018

Highlights

On August 16, 2017, TxDOT approved both Terracon Consultants’ Geotechnical Engineering Report and Dannenbaum Engineering’s Box Culvert Analysis, determining that the 10’ x 10’ reinforced concrete boxes along the west side of Smith Ranch Road, as well as the bedding and backfill, met the current criteria for traffic load rating.
- This approval allowed the project design to move forward with the original alignment.
Dannenbaum Engineering submitted its final Drainage Impact Analysis Report to TxDOT in August 2017, and it was approved by TxDOT on September 25, 2017.
On October 12, 2017, Dannenbaum submitted its Environmental Technical Reports to TxDOT for review and approval.
The Design Concept Conference was held on November 14, 2017, and approved on December 11, 2017 with notification to the City on December 28, 2017.
Dannenbaum submitted its Preliminary Engineering Report (PER), including 30% plans, to the City and TxDOT on February 6, 2018. The PER has been distributed to staff for review and comment.
- Once it is approved, Dannenbaum will begin work on the 60% plans for the project.
Dannenbaum’s Surveyor is working on the Parcel Maps for Right-of-Way acquisition

February 2018 memo

2017

June 2017

Highlights

A public meeting held in conjunction with TxDOT on February 21, 2017 at Challenger Elementary School.
- Responses to the project on the comment form were generally positive; however some attendees had questions, regarding the intersection with Hughes Ranch Road, which were answered by staff and consultant either at the meeting or via written responses to comments.
A web page for the Smith Ranch Road Widening Project was initiated on the City’s web site to keep the public informed of updates on the project.
- This includes a schematic of the planned project as well as information that was available at the public meeting.
In late February, TxDOT informed the City that, because it had revised the TxDOT traffic load criteria since the time Brazoria Drainage District 4 (BDD4) had installed the 10’x10’ reinforced concrete boxes to fill the ditch on the west side of Smith Ranch Road, the boxes no longer met its criteria.
- With the widening of the road, at least a portion of the southbound lanes would be on top of the boxes.
  - The City commissioned Dannenbaum Engineering to conduct a structural analysis of the boxes to determine if they are suitable for traffic loading
  - Terracon Consultants took field samples on site and conducted a geotechnical analysis of the boxes and soil bedding and backfill. Both Reports confirm that the boxes and bedding meet TxDOT’s current structural criteria and the final Reports were submitted to TxDOT in July for review and confirmation of the final roadway alignment.
  - Design, including the Preliminary Engineering Report, cannot move forward until the alignment has been approved by TxDOT.
On April 17, 2017, TxDOT held an environmental scoping meeting with the City, Dannenbaum, and Berg Oliver.
- This meeting developed the level and scope of the environmental study required and TxDOT has agreed to a Categorical Exclusion as long as the alignment remains as planned.
Also in April, Dannenbaum Engineering submitted its draft Drainage Impact Analysis Report to the City and to BDD4.
- Once comments were addressed, the revised report was submitted to TxDOT in May and TxDOT has reviewed and provided comments. Dannenbaum is currently providing responses.