In an effort to head off any potential dispute over the Butterfield Boulevard extension, which is mired in delays and could cost the City or contractor more than anticipated when the project is finally finished, the Morgan Hill City Council this week was scheduled to hire a consultant who specializes in “construction management and schedule evaluation.”
City staff recommended the Council hire the consultant, Riedinger Consulting, at a cost of about $20,000 to provide services for the Butterfield project, which was formerly expected to be complete by the end of March, and is now slated for opening by the end of April.
The purpose of hiring the consultant, who will only work as needed, is to help the City determine the true cause of project delays that the City and contractor RGW Construction continue to blame on each other, according to Morgan Hill Project Manager Julie Behzad.
“This is just a place holder if we need them,” Behzad said. She described Riedinger Consulting as a “third party who is an expert in this area.”
Approved by the Council in April 2011, the 4,000-foot project will extend Butterfield Boulevard from its current terminus at Tennant Avenue in a southwesterly direction to Monterey and Watsonville roads. Butterfield Boulevard was built with RDA bond proceeds, and currently serves as a north-south bypass around the east side of Morgan Hill. It currently extends from Cochrane Road to Tennant Avenue.
The $14.2 million construction contract was funded by the former Redevelopment Agency.
Construction started in early 2012, and 12 change orders since then have totaled about $291,000, and material overruns have added up to about $146,000, according to City staff.
Earlier this year, RGW Construction notified the City it might file a claim for about $3 million in damages related to costs for importing extra soil to the project.
The City’s official “project completion date” was Feb. 4, and the City plans to pursue “liquidated damages” of about $2,000 for each day beyond that date the contractor does not finish the project, Behzad said. Anticipating that RGW might dispute that and try to blame the City for the delays, staff recommended hiring Riedinger.
The vote was scheduled after the deadline for Times Friday, but was on the Council’s consent calendar of items that are considered routine and expected to gain approval without any rowing.
Also on the consent calendar was an additional expense of up to $35,000 for Union Pacific’s traffic flagging services during construction of the project which includes a bridge over the railroad tracks. The City has already approved about $146,000 to Union Pacific for flagging services.
Behzad said despite the extra costs, the project remains within its original budget and she thinks it will remain within the budget by the time it is completed.
