The Sequim City Council voted to authorize the City Manager to award and execute the West Fir Street construction contract to Interwest Construction, Inc. from Carlsborg, Washington at their March 25 meeting. There were three bids on the project: Nordland Construction NW from Nordland, Washington bid $6,541,608.70; Seton Construction, Inc. from Port Townsend, Washington bid $5,986,347.63; and Interwest Construction, Inc. had the low bid at $5,635,181.84.
The project is expected to cost a total of $6,473,700, which includes a 10% City held contingency and construction administration cost. The City is currently budgeted to cover the construction cost of the project.
The West Fir Street Rehabilitation project follows the Complete Streets model and will provide smoothly paved eastbound and westbound lanes for vehicles and bike lanes for cyclists. Pedestrians will notice improvements with the addition of concrete sidewalks on both sides of the street and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant curb ramps at intersections. Other pedestrian improvements will include street lighting, landscaping, and crossing enhancements at the Sequim Avenue intersection, the mid-block school crossing east of 2nd Avenue, and at the 5th Avenue intersection. A new traffic signal at the 5th Avenue intersection will improve vehicle operations.
Much of the West Fir Street Rehabilitation project will take place underground with utility work including:
- a new stormwater collection and infiltration facility including a landscaped bioretention facility near the east end of the project by Sequim Avenue,
- replacing and upsizing an existing 8” diameter asbestos cement water main nearing the end of its service life with a new 10” polyvinyl chloride (PVC) main,
- replacing and upsizing an existing 8” to 10” concrete sewer main nearing the end of it service life with a new 12” PVC main,
- replacing the aged irrigation pipe with a new 18” PVC pipe, and installing new reclaimed pipe for future reclaimed water reuse.
A projected shortfall of $1.675 million in February was mitigated by $125,000 saved in design modifications during the bidding process, $460,000 by favorable contractor bid pricing, $300,000 in construction management savings, $240,000 additional funding for the project added in 2018, and $85,000 in construction contingencies and multipliers.
The source of funding for the potential current shortfall of $465,000 for the contingency will be determined by the City Council at a later date if necessary, but the Council discussed possibly moving revenue from the General Fund to the Rainy-Day Fund for that purpose.
The construction phase of the West Fir Street Rehabilitation project is funded through a combination of $2,464,220 in City funds, including the streets fund, and water and sewer utilities for their portion of the project, a grant from the Washington State Transportation Improvement Board for over $3.1 million, a $231,000 Safe Route to Schools grant, a Clean Water Standard Loan for $467,376, and $144,035 in Clean Water forgivable loan principle and Centennial grant. A previous grant of $829,940 from the Federal Highway Administration and $43,250 Clean Water Forgivable Loan Principle helped to cover the cost of preliminary engineering and acquiring the right of way for the street and sewer improvements.
Interwest Construction is expected to mobilize materials and equipment to the site in late April or early May and to complete the project in the summer of 2020.
Residents can sign up to receive updates on the West Fir Street Rehabilitation project on the City’s website https://sequimwa.gov by going to the Notify Me page and registering for Fir Street Construction under the Alert Center. There is a choice whether to receive email or text notifications. For more information, please contact the City of Sequim Public Works Department at (360) 683-4908.